Gaza Crossings’ Operations Status: Monthly Update – March 2016 – OCHA factsheet

BACKGROUND 

Longstanding restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza have undermined the living conditions of 1.8 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

• In March, Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel was open for 27 out of 27 scheduled days.

• The number of crossings during March was around the monthly average recorded since the beginning of 2016.

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

• UN Gaza staff permit approval rates have continuously decreased since the beginning of this year.

RAFAH CROSSING

• Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed during the whole month of March.

• The crossing has been closed since 24 October 2014, except for 42 days.

• There are at least 30,000 Palestinians registered as humanitarian cases waiting to leave Gaza via Rafah.

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

EREZ : Number of crossings into Israel

RAFAH : Number of crossings in both directions

EXIT OF GOODS

• Kerem Shalom operated on 19 out of 27 scheduled days during daytime (08:00 – 19:00).

• 131 truckloads of goods exited Gaza, and this represents a 54% decrease compared to January 2016. Trucks exited to the following destinations:

ENTRY OF GOODS

• Kerem Shalom operated on 23 out of 27* scheduled days, allowing the entry of 10,831 truckloads of goods.

• The volume of imports this month decreased by 3% compared to the monthly average since the beginning of 2016.

• 9% of the truckloads that entered in March were designated for aid agencies.

• 6,962 of the truckloads carried construction materials,
constituting the largest category of imports (58%). These included 2,186 truckloads of materials entered via the GRM, defined by Israel as dual use items.

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

* Kerem Shalom crossing is open Sunday – Friday.

Breakdown of goods imported in February 2016 (in truckloads)

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

**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 INTO GAZA

FUEL IMPORTS

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

• 21.9 million liters of petrol & diesel.

• 7.3 million liters of industrial fuel for the Gaza Power Plant.

• 5,448 tons of cooking gas, which represents around 72% of the estimated needs of around 7,500 tons, according to the Gas Station Owners' Association (Dec 2014 estimate).