Israel allows transport of Gaza produce to West Bank

Israel began allowing agricultural produce from the Gaza Strip to be transported to markets in the West Bank on Thursday as a load of cucumbers made the journey from the coastal enclave to Hebron.

Some ten tons of cucumbers were trucked from Gaza to the southern West Bank city, the first time such a shipment has been made since Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 2007.

The move was authorized by Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, head of the IDF’s coordination with Palestinian authorities, and is aimed at bolstering Gaza’s economic situation by enabling locally produced agricultural items to be sold in the West Bank.

Next week, a further shipment of tuna and other fish will also travel from Gaza to West Bank markets.

On Tuesday, Israel reopened two crossings between Gaza and Israel that had been closed for two days. The Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings were ordered shut after a rocket fired from Gaza struck Israeli territory on Friday. There were no reports of casualties or damage from the rocket attack.

The rocket was the first to hit Israeli soil since September 16, and the second since the end of the 50-day war with Hamas on Ugust 26.

Erez is the main crossing for goods and people, while Kerem Shalom is the primary crossing used for larger shipments, including of supplies intended for rehabilitating Gazan infrastructure damaged or destroyed in the conflict.

Israel began allowing goods in and out of the Strip several weeks ago, following the scheduling of further ceasefire talks and an announcement by the Palestinians that they had agreed in principle on the Palestinian Authority taking over control of Gaza from Hamas.

The Palestinian Authority recently asked Israel to open a new terminal for transferring goods from Israel into Gaza, senior Palestinian sources told The Times of Israel this week.

Gaza’s need for construction materials in the wake of the summer war was too great and too urgent to depend on the Kerem Shalom crossing alone, the sources said.

The existing crossing can only handle 450 trucks per day. Israel has agreed to expand the crossing so it will be able to handle 700 trucks, but the PA is asking for a second crossing to further expand Gaza’s import capacity.

The new crossing could be located either at the now-shuttered Sufa crossing, or in the former Erez industrial zone on the Israel-Gaza border, which was home to joint Israeli-Gazan businesses in quieter times but which is currently unequipped for inspecting and letting through large vehicles.

Israel has not yet responded to the request, the Palestinian sources said.

Avi Issacharoff contributed to this report.