Ref: 141/2005

Date: 16 November 2005

Time: 12:00 GMT

Gaza Strip Border Crossings Agreement Reinforces IOF's Control over the Strip’s Economy and the Movement of Civilians

Under the new agreement, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) will continue their de facto control over the Gaza Strip economy and the movement of its 1.4-million population to the West Bank and the outside world.

On Tuesday evening, 15 November 2005, it was announced that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Israel had reached an agreement over the border crossings of the Gaza Strip.  Under the agreement, on 25 November 2005, the Rafah International Crossing Point, on the Egyptian border in the south of the Gaza Strip, will be opened for civilian travel to Egypt and the rest of the world.  The Palestinians and European Union (EU) observers will run the Palestinian side of the crossing point.  In addition, the EU observers will transmit live images to a joint control room several kilometers away.  Palestinian and Israeli security officers will view the camera feeds and monitor the crossing point from there.

The agreement allows Palestinians to export Gaza Strip agricultural products through Karni (al-Mentar) crossing and the Rafah International Crossing Point.  Furthermore, the Kerem Shalom crossing point will be opened for Palestinian imports.  However, custom clearance will be done by Israeli clearance firms.

Under the agreement, IOF will allow bus convoys for goods and passengers between the Gaza Strip and West Bank, starting on 15 December 2005, and on 15 January 2006, IOF will allow truck convoys to move between the two areas.  In addition, the agreement includes stipulations to draft a plan to reduce restrictions on movement within the West Bank, starting on 31 December 2005.  It also allows the commencement of the construction of the Gaza sea port, and a trilateral committee will be set up to draft security and operational arrangements before the port is opened.  Finally, the agreement stipulates that discussions on the reopening of the Gaza International Airport would continue.

It is worth noting that Rafah International Crossing Point, the sole outlet of the Gaza Strip to the outside world, has been closed since 12 December 2004.  IOF have reopened it sporadically to allow Palestinians trapped on the Egyptian side of the crossing point to travel back to the Gaza Strip and to allow some patients, students and pilgrims to travel abroad.  The closure of the crossing point has severely impacted the Palestinian civilian population of the Gaza Strip.  Many Palestinian civilians, including women and children, have been trapped on the Egyptian side of the crossing point for long periods of time and under severe humanitarian conditions, lacking basic services.

While PCHR hopes that the agreement will be implemented and that travel and movement of Palestinians, as well as the movement of imports and exports, will be eased, it asserts that:

• Compared to the current disastrous conditions for the movement for passengers and goods and the current state of economic and social strangulation, this agreement is a step forward, and in this sense is positive.  However, the agreement is negative in that it maintains the de facto IOF control over Rafah International Crossing Point; it does not guarantee free interaction with the outside world; and the IOF will continue to control the civilian and commercial movement between the Gaza Strip and West Bank;

• The absence of actual Israeli military presence inside the Gaza Strip does not mean that the Israeli military occupation has come to an end.  The field conditions in the Gaza Strip prove that IOF have continued to control movement to and from the Gaza Strip.  This agreement reinforces the IOF control over, and occupation of the Gaza Strip, which has not come to an end with the implementation of the "Disengagement Plan."

• The agreement reinforces the current deprivation of tens of thousands of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, who do not have ID cards, of their right to travel and meet family members abroad.

• The agreement strengthens the Israeli control over the Gaza Strip economy, and hinders attempts to develop the economy.  This is achieved through controlling the movement of imports and exports, which can be stopped by IOF in light of any field developments or under security claims.

• PCHR is concerned over the continuation of IOF violations of international humanitarian law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the continued use of the policy of closure and economic strangulation, as a method of pressurising Palestinians;

• The IOF's bad will, regarding the facilitation of movement and travel, is proven by the delay in re-opening Gaza International Airport, which requires only a few months for renovation and operational readiness.  The sea port, whose construction is allowed to start according to the agreement, will need more than two years before it becomes ready for operation.

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