Gaza Crossings’ Operations Status: Monthly Update (October 2016) – OCHA Factsheet

BACKGROUND 

Longstanding restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza have undermined the living conditions of 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza. Many of the current restrictions, originally imposed by Israel in the early 1990s, were intensified after June 2007, following the Hamas takeover of Gaza and the imposition of a blockade. These restrictions have reduced access to livelihoods, essential services and housing, disrupted family life, and undermined people’s hopes for a secure and prosperous future. The situation has been compounded by the restrictions imposed since June 2013 by the Egyptian authorities at Rafah Crossing, which had become the main crossing point used by Palestinian passengers in the Gaza Strip, given the above restrictions on the Israeli- controlled crossings.

EREZ CROSSING

• Opened on all Opened on 20 out of 26 scheduled days, and closed on six days due to Jewish holidays.

• The overall number of crossings was 45% below the monthly average recorded since the beginning of 2016 and the lowest since December 2014.

• The crossing is accessible only to Israeli-issued permit holders, primarily medical and other humanitarian cases, merchants, and aid workers.

• 309 out of 455 permit applications for business people were approved, including permit renewals.

• The denial rate for national UN staff from Gaza stood at 52% in October.

• According to WHO, the approval rate for medical referrals in October stood at 44%, the lowest such rate since April 2009

* The figures reflect the number of times people crossed, but not the actual number of people crossing.

RAFAH CROSSING

• Exceptionally opened for 7 days.

•  Since October 2014, the crossing has been closed on all but 72 days, and has been partially open for 33 days since the beginning of this year.

•  At least 20,000 people are on the waiting list, including approximately 5,200 medical cases and 3,300 students, according to the local authorities.

•  Prior to the closure of the crossing in 2014, a monthly average of 4,000 people crossed Rafah for health-related reasons.

EREZ: Crossings into Israel

RAFAH: Crossings in both directions

EXIT OF GOODS

• The Kerem Shalom crossing operated for exiting goods on 12 out of 26 scheduled days, for daytime hours only.

•  114 truckloads of goods exited Gaza, a 30% decrease compared to the monthly average since the beginning of 2016. Trucks exited to the following destinations:

— 65 truckloads of agricultural products, furniture and clothing to the West Bank;

— 37 truckloads of agricultural products and scrap metal/aluminum to Israel.

— 12 truckloads of agricultural products to international markets.

Truckloads exiting into Gaza

Truckloads entering Gaza

ENTRY OF GOODS

• Kerem Shalom, which is the only functional commercial route between Gaza and the external world, operated on 14 out of 26 scheduled days*.

• The volume of imports decreased by 24% compared to the monthly average since the beginning of 2016.

• commercial crossing opened on four days, allowing 142 truckloads of construction materials to enter Gaza.

• 7% of the truckloads that entered in October were designated for humanitarian aid agencies.

• 4,545 truckloads carried construction materials, constituting the largest category of imports (53%). These include 1,696 truckloads of materials defined by Israel as 'dual use' items.

• Karni, Sufa and Nahal Oz crossings with Israel remained close.

* Kerem Shalom crossing is open Sunday – Friday.

Goods imported in September 2016

* Primarily includes cement and steel bars, aggregates removed from dual use materials list in 2015.

**The GRM is a temporary agreement between the Government of Palestine and the Government of Israel, brokered by the United Nations in September 2014, to allow the entry of dual use items, including building materials for repairs and reconstruction of private housing and infrastructure damaged or destroyed during the hostilities, as well as new projects not related to damages during hostilities. Prior to the GRM the import of construction material was limited to international organizations following a lengthy approval procedure, but not for the private sector or shelter self-help programs.

FUEL IMPORTS

Kerem Shalom remained the only crossing available for the import of fuel, allowing the entry of:

• 16.7 million litres of petrol & diesel.

• 6.2 million litres of industrial fuel for the Gaza Power Plant and

• 3,731 tons of cooking gas, which represents around 50% of the estimated needs (7,500 tons), according to the Gas Station Owners' Association (June 2016 estimate).