GAZA/TEL AVIV: Israel allowed a limited resumption of commercial exports from the Gaza Strip on Monday in what it called a “conditional” measure one month after a truce halted 11 days of fighting with the Palestinian enclave’s Hamas rulers.
Gaza border officials said the easing of Israeli restrictions would last two to three days and would apply to agricultural goods and some textiles.
Israel keeps tight controls Gaza crossings, with support from neighboring Egypt, citing threats from Hamas. The Israeli restrictions were intensified during the May fighting, effectively halting all exports.
But with the Egyptian-mediated cease-fire largely holding, Israel said some exports would be allowed out through its territory as of Monday morning.
“Following a security evaluation, a decision has been made for the first time since the end of (the fighting) to enable ... (the) limited export of agricultural produce from the Gaza Strip,” COGAT, a branch of Israel’s Defense Ministry, said.
COGAT said the measure was approved by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government and was “conditional upon the preservation of security stability.”
Egypt stepped up its Israel-Hamas mediation last week after incendiary balloons launched from Gaza drew retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Hamas sites, challenging the fragile cease-fire.
But with that flare-up having ebbed since early Friday, some workers in Gaza voiced hope that the easing of Israeli restrictions would last, and potentially be expanded. Some 10,000 people in Gaza, home 2 million people, work in textiles.
“This could be a start ... today we exported clothing, and tomorrow, maybe something else,” said Gaza truck driver Ismail Abu Suleiman, 55, who transports export-bound goods to Israel’s Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Gaza’s agriculture ministry said farmers had lost $16 million due to the restrictions on exports.
Israel allows some Gaza exports, one month after truce
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Israel allows some Gaza exports, one month after truce
- Gaza’s agriculture ministry said farmers had lost $16 million due to the restrictions on exports
Israeli military kills Palestinian teenager in occupied West Bank
- Mayor of Al-Mughayyir says army raided the village when people began to exit mosques after Friday prayers
- Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty
- Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967
AL-MUGHAYYIR: Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, while the military said soldiers had responded to stone throwing.
The Ramallah-based Health Ministry announced the death of 14-year-old Mohammed Al-Nassan by Israeli fire in Al-Mughayyir in a statement on Friday.
Shortly after, Israel’s military said its forces had come to the village after Palestinians “hurled stones toward Israelis, set tires on fire and blocked access routes to the area.”
FASTFACT
The Ramallah-based Health Ministry announced the death of 14-year-old Mohammed Al-Nassan by Israeli fire in Al-Mughayyir in a statement on Friday.
The military said dozens of Palestinians were throwing stones upon their arrival, including one who posed “an imminent threat.”
“The soldiers responded by firing warning shots into the air, followed by fire to eliminate the terrorist,” the military said, adding it had set up roadblocks in the area to search for another suspect.
Amin Abu Aliya, mayor of Al-Mughayyir, said that the army raided the village when people began to exit mosques after Friday prayers.
“This young man (Nassan) was exiting the mosque where he was praying with the people, the military vehicle stopped in front of the mosque, they opened the back door and started shooting at him directly,” Abu Aliya said.
Abu Aliya added that following the incident, the army introduced a curfew for the village, closing all shops and setting up a new checkpoint at the village’s entrance.
He pointed to the heavy military presence in his village in recent months, which he said often protected Israeli settlers who recently set up nearby outposts and took land from Al-Mughayyir farmers.
In September, a settler who the military said was an off-duty soldier shot and killed a 20-year-old who the army said had thrown stones in Al-Mughayyir.
Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Violence there has soared since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war and has not subsided despite the truce that came into effect in October.
Since October 2023, Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Health Ministry figures.
