Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) – Thirteenth bi-weekly implementation report (OCHA)

23 May 2006

Thirteenth Report on the Implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access

The United Nations is submitting the 13th bi-weekly report on the implementation of the 15 November Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA), covering the period 29 April – 16 May 2006 inclusive.¹  The Office of the Quartet’s Special Envoy closed on 28 April, and the United Nations has assumed reporting responsibilities on the implementation of the AMA.²

• Rafah was open daily during the reporting period. The crossing closed early on the majority of days due to low passenger numbers.

• Karni was open 13 days during the reporting period, although for the majority of the time only open for imported goods. Karni was only open one day for exports during the reporting period (9 May) when one and a half truckloads crossed. (The daily average number of exported truckloads during the reporting period is therefore very low at 0.1 truckloads per day.)

• Kerem Shalom was open on four days for the import of WFP essential food commodities from Israel. The last of the earmarked Egyptian food assistance arrived through Kerem Shalom on 26 April.

• Erez has been closed to Palestinians since 12 March coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Purim. There is no indication as to when the crossing will reopen.

Consequently, no workers or traders crossed into Israel through Erez during the reporting period.

• The deadline for the introduction of truck convoys between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as agreed in the AMA passed on 15 January. Discussions of bus convoys have not yet resumed.

• According to OCHA, the number of obstacles to movement in the West Bank increased from 504 to 515. OCHA compiles several times a year a comprehensive count of physical obstacles to Palestinian movement in the West Bank. The figures reported here are based on OCHA field observations only.

• The GoI has not provided the assurance to donors that it will not interfere with the operation of the seaport.

• There have been no discussions on the airport during the reporting period.

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¹ The 13th report covers 18 days. The report draws on all available data sources for reporting including the EU, UN agencies, PA ministries, PalTrade, COGAT and the World Bank.

² For further information please contact Francine Pickup or Catherine Osborn, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), tel: 02 582 9962.