Israeli authorities prevented exporting Gaza products to the West Bank via the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Tuesday, an official said. Tahsin al-Saqqa, general director of marketing in the Gaza Ministry of Agriculture, told Ma’an that Israel did not allow the export of 15 tons of sweet potatoes and dates from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank for “unconvincing reasons.” Al-Saqqa added that this caused a decrease in the prices of goods in Gaza, and that Gaza farmers will not send any trucks to be exported to the West Bank without a guarantee from the Israeli side to allow them inside.

Kerem Shalom Crossing, July 19, 2014 (Photo: IDF)

According to Gisha, two truckloads of agricultural products were expected to exit the Gaza Strip for sale in the West Bank. “The short drive to Hebron would have symbolized the first time that commercial access would have been permitted between Gaza and the West Bank since July 2007- but it didn’t happen.” The trucks, one carrying sweet potatoes and the other dates, were sent back to the Strip, at a cost of tens of thousands of shekels to their respective sellers.

Despite meetings which took place between the Israeli and Palestinian agricultural coordinators, the procedures that are to regulate the marketing of products from Gaza to the West Bank were not published. This led to misunderstandings between the relevant parties, specifically as concerned demands regarding packaging and labeling. The goods cannot be re-refrigerated and so the farmers will be compelled to sell what they can on the local market and destroy the rest.

Next Wednesday, October 22, a meeting is planned for the Israeli and Palestinian agricultural coordinators along with 18 representatives of the private sector from Gaza in order to hammer out the details related to the potential marketing of goods from Gaza to the West Bank. The Palestinian side is asking that Israel publish its guidelines in an organized way on the matter and that it make the most of the scanner at Kerem Shalom to allow goods to cross in a cost-effective way.

Related:

http://gisha.org/updates/3584