Karni crossing
The IDF opened Karni crossing on 12 April for imported goods and remained open until 2pm. Prior to this the crossing had been closed since 4 April.2 Before to 4 April, Karni crossing had been open since 29 March. Although Karni operated at below full capacity during this period, hundreds of truckloads of supplies were able to enter the Gaza Strip.
At current operating levels, each day Karni is open, approximately two days food supply is able to enter. If Karni crossing closes, buffer stocks are depleted and the population remains vulnerable to food shortages (See Figure 1).
With successive closures since the start of this year, food stocks in the Gaza Strip have not had a chance to build up to the usual 30 – 60 day buffer.
As of 12 April, Karni crossing has been closed 53 days in 2006 (57% of 2006). The Israeli authorities, state that Karni’s closure is a security measure to protect Israeli citizens from Palestinian attacks (See Timeline below).3 In comparison, Karni was closed for a total of 18% of the year in 2005 and 19% of the year in 2004.
The Gaza export market has been largely paralysed this year. The volume of imported and exported goods in March was the lowest so far in 2006, well below the 2005 monthly average (Figure 2).4 The 15 November agreement on Movement and Access “facilitating the movement of people and goods…” set a goal of 150 daily exported truckloads by end of 2005 and 400 by end of 2006. This month, the average number of truckloads exported daily was seven.5 On any given day, producers and suppliers do not know whether their produce will be able to leave; planning becomes near impossible.
The Palestinian Economic Development Company (PEDC), responsible for the cultivation of agricultural produce in the former settlement areas now has losses in 2006 exceeding $6.4m. The Palestine Trade Centre (PalTrade) has estimated daily Palestinian export losses at $600,000 – or more than $30m, since the beginning of 2006, as of 12 April.
Recent closures of Karni crossing are imposed in a context where eight confirmed cases of avian flu among poultry and ducks in the Gaza Strip has led to the culling of 250,000 livestock and the jeopardising of livelihoods. For many Gazans, poultry is one of the few meats that they can afford, and one of the few sources of available protein.
5 January: The IDF requests the Palestinian Authority (PA) to dig a trench west of the Karni crossing to intercept a possible tunnel leading to the crossing. The PA starts this work the same day, digging a 6 metre trench approximately 1km in length.
20 January: The PA completes the trench. According to the IDF, one tunnel was discovered, while according to the PA, a small hole, possibly the start of a tunnel, connecting to a water pipeline was discovered.
23 January: The IDF notifies the PA that it has information of another tunnel and requests the PA to dig a deeper trench, this time 10m deep.
30 January: Completion by PA of trench. No tunnel located. The IDF requests the PA to dig another trench, 10m in depth, 300m long, 100m northwest of Karni crossing.
31 January: PA begins third trench.
14 February: Sufa Crossing closed for security reasons
21 February: Karni is closed in the evening amid Israeli reports of an explosion in the vicinity of the crossing.
27 February: The IDF requests the PA to dig a fourth trench, 20m long and 4m deep near Karni crossing. The PA complies but no tunnels are found. Digging continues.
1 March: Israeli Defense Minister Mofaz indicates that Karni will re-open on 2 March. However this did not take place.
9 March: Karni opens again operating on a partial basis.
14 March: IDF closes Karni again.
20 March: Karni crossing opens for imported goods before being closed again less than one hour later. The IDF states security reasons for the sudden closure. Approximately eight truckloads were imported.
21 March: Karni crossing opens at 11:00am for imported goods
26 March: Karni crossing opens for exported goods. Sufa crossing, closed since 14 February, re-opens for construction materials.
28 March: Karni crossing closes due to the Israeli elections.
29 March: Karni partially reopens for both imported and (limited) exported goods.
4 – 11 April: Karni crossing closes due to a specific security threat. Open on 7 April.
Impact on Humanitarian Assistance9
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) uses Karni crossing for importing humanitarian food supplies and reports that “…if Karni remains closed, we are, once again, counting down to a food crisis.…the clock is now ticking and distribution will have to be shut down entirely for the second time in less than a month if the crossing does not open immediately.”10
UNRWA received 30,000 litres of petrol and 90,000 litres of diesel in March which, together with fuel in storage, will last between two and three months.
With Karni’s closure, the Gazan flour mills have been unable to supply the World Food Programme’s (WFP) outstanding order of 7,510 MT of wheat flour for its distribution to needy non-refugee populations. As a result on 9 April, WFP started to bring in emergency supplies through Sufa crossing – a total of 1,800 MT of food supplies has entered this far. This has left WFP with a shortfall of 6,353 MT of basic commodities, as of 11 April.
Due to the closure of Karni, UNICEF has not beenable to deliver humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, including equipment for the Ministry of Education and 67 vaccine fridges, 13 vaccine freezers and other medical supplies for the Ministry of Health.
Kerem Shalom
Kerem Shalom crossing on the Gaza-Israel-Egyptian border has been open for humanitarian assistance originating from Egypt since 22 March. Egypt has provided the Gazan people with 280 trucks of humanitarian assistance to compensate for the food shortages resulting from the closures at Karni crossing. As of 10 April, 210 trucks have entered the Gaza Strip through Kerem Shalom crossing.11 Up to 15 trucks a day are being processed through Kerem Shalom, less than 10% of Karni’s current capacity flow.
Erez crossing
a. Access for Palestinian workers and traders into Israel (Figure 3)
Erez crossing is the only access point for Gazan workers and traders with valid permits to enter Israel. Men are eligible for permits if aged 35 years and above, and if married with children. Criteria for trade permits are the same, except the age restrictions on men is set at 30 years and above.
The flow of workers and traders in March was significantly lower than the previous month with an average of 1,161 workers and 56 traders crossing daily into Israel.12 These low numbers are due to a general closure imposed on the oPt since 12 March. The closure was initially imposed due to the Jewish holiday of Purim but has remained in place since. As of 31 March, Erez crossing has been closed 55% of the year.
b. Access for medical referrals (Figure 4)
Medical referrals require passage through Erez crossing for treatment in Israel. An estimated 93% of all referrals crossed in February, a lower percentage than the previous months. Figure for referrals crossing in March are not available.
c. Access for humanitarian organisations
International humanitarian organisations require prior coordination with Israeli authorities to enter and leave the Gaza Strip through Erez crossing.
On 14 February, the IDF introduced new procedures at Erez crossing for internationals leaving the Gaza Strip. The vehicles of international staff members with ID cards issued by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs are subject to an external search by a private security company with a ‘sniffer dog’. While this has accelerated the actual checking process, the waitingtime on the Palestinian side has significantly increased – often two hours or more – due to the delay in receiving the Israeli instruction to proceed through checking.
Since 23 February 2006, UN national staff members have been unable to cross in vehicles driven by international staff. UN national staff members are instead instructed to exit the vehicle at the southern gatepost and continue to the VIP lounge through the workers tunnels. This has not been accepted by the UN and national staff members are currently unable to cross Erez.
1. Rafah crossing
Rafah passenger crossing is the point of access for Gazans travelling overseas and is located on the Gazan border with Egypt. The border is controlled jointly by the PA and Egypt.
a. Palestinians’ access internationally from the Gaza Strip (Figure 5)
Since the PA and Egypt started to jointly operate the crossing on 25 November 2005, the flow of people crossing has increased. On 26 March, the opening hours at the crossing were extended, and it now operates from 8am – 7pm.
b. Restrictions on medical referrals13
Medical referrals require passage through Rafah crossing for international treatment. In February, a total of 991 medical referrals documents were issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, of which 197 crossed Rafah for treatment in Egypt or Jordan.14 A further 28 urgent patients in need for ambulance back-to-back transportation left the Gaza Strip for Egypt. Figures for medical referrals crossing in March are not available.
2. Sufa Commercial Crossing (Figure 6)
Sufa crossing borders Israel and is situated northeast of Rafah crossing. In the past, this crossing point was open for a number of Palestinians working in the agricultural sector on farms in southern Israel. However, since 30 May 2004 the crossing has only been used for importing construction materials, notably gravel.
Stating security concerns, the IDF closed Sufa crossing on 14 February and requested that the PA implement new security procedures at the crossing, including the fencing in off additional area near the crossing, and to limit the entry for Palestinian staff. The crossing remained closed until 26 March, when the PA complied with IDF’s demands. This is reflected in the low number of truckloads entering this month. As of 31 March, Sufa crossing had been closed 52% of the year.
3. Nahal Oz energy pipelines (Figure 7)
Palestine General Petroleum Company (GPC), a company owned by the PA, imports fuel (including benzene, diesel and gas) into the Gaza Strip through its Israeli counterpart, Dor Energy using the Nahal Oz pipelines. Imports of fuel increased in both February and March.
4. Coastal area
a. Access for Palestinian fishing (Figure 8)
The fishing catch in March 2006 (47 tonnes) was the same as March last year but considerably lover than March 2000 and 2004.
Since January 2005, the Israeli authorities have permitted Palestinian fishing up to ten nautical miles from the Gaza Strip coastline compared to six nautical miles previously. Under the Oslo Accords, Gaza Strip fishermen are entitled to fish 20 nautical miles from the coast. Palestinian fishing is prohibited one nautical mile north of the border with Egypt and one and a half nautical miles south of the border with Israel.
b. Seaport
The 15 November Agreement stated that construction of a seaport in the Gaza Strip can commence. However, following the PLC elections, the Israeli government has stopped talks with the PA on this issue.
5. Airport
The Palestinian airport in the Gaza Strip has been closed since the beginning of the second intifada in late September 2000. The 15 November Agreement notes … “an understanding between the parties [the PA and the GoI] on the importance of an operating Palestinian airport …”. However following the PLC elections, the Israeli government has cut off all talks with the PA on this issue.
Notes
1 This report monitors access in and out of the Gaza Strip. Movement in and out of the Gaza Strip is controlled through:
All movement between Israel and the Gaza Strip is controlled by the Israeli authorities. Fences and a concrete wall surround the Gaza Strip, Palestinian access to the sea is controlled by Israeli naval vessels and Palestinian air traffic is prohibited.
2 The closure of Karni crossing during this period is with the exception of one-day’s opening on 7 April, Kerem Shalom crossing to the south east of the Gaza Strip has remained open. It was closed on 9 April.
3 Weekend days (Sat) not included in closure calculation unless falling in a closure period. Days with limited opening hours and/or when crossing has only been open in one direction at the time are excluded from the closure percentage.
4 The vast majority of imported truckloads came from Israel (72%) with the remainder originating from the West Bank (14%) and other parts of the world (14%).
5 Of these exports, 34% of the exported goods were destined for Israel, 2% for the West Bank and 64% for other parts of the world. The average daily movement number of truckloads of goods through Karni crossing is calculated excluding weekends i.e. Saturdays.
6 World Food Programme/Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM/ME), 9 March 2006.
7 Palestine Trade Company (PalTrade)
8 An additional 3,071 MT of flour has been imported in period 21 March – 3 April.
9 Information received from UNRWA, WFP Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM/ME) and UNICEF.
10 UNRWA Press Release, 11 April 2006.
11 Egyptian trucks are smaller than the Palestinian trucks (with two-thirds of the capacity).
12 The average daily Palestinian labour movement through Erez crossing is calculated excluding weekends i.e. Fridays and Saturdays.
13 WHO
14 Only cases holding documents released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health are recorded as referrals crossing, whilst patients not holding the referral documents are recorded as normal passengers.
15 One truckload equals 40 tonnes.
Document Sources: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Subject: Access and movement, Closures/Curfews/Blockades, Economic issues, Gaza Strip
Publication Date: 31/03/2006