Palestinian boys stand by a fence at the Erez Crossing, October 2017. (photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/ REUTERS)
Amidst escalating tensions at the Gaza border, human-rights NGO Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement released a report on Monday indicating that the past year was the worst regarding the movement of Palestinians in and out of Gaza since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.
In the report, Gisha presented a list of ten policies that were carried out by Israeli authorities and de facto limited the movement in and out the Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing.
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The list includes new or intensified measures “introduced with little to no justification provided as to their purpose and, it appears, no consideration of the impact they would have on the lives of Gaza’s residents,” the report reads.
The list of measures includes: significant extension of the processing times of permit applications, leaving thousands of permit applications pending with no response; a new directive prohibiting Palestinians from exiting Gaza with electronic devices, toiletries and food; freezing travel to the American Consulate; mandatory shuttle services to Allenby Bridge Crossing; “security blocks” blocking travel for medical patients, traders, and humanitarian workers; increase in the frequency and severity of “security interviews” at Erez; trader permits cancelled as new approvals declined; travel for Friday prayers in Jerusalem remaining blocked, and; recipients of permits for travel abroad increasingly made to sign a commitment not to return for a year.
According to the report, the number of exits by Palestinians via Erez Crossing in 2017 dropped by 51 percent compared to 2016.
The report shows that the monthly average in 2017 was only 5,963 exits compared to a monthly average of 12,150 exits in 2016, and 14,276 exits in 2015. It also shows that the monthly average number of exits in 2014 was 6,270.
The number of valid trade permits also dropped dramatically by 85 percent during this period, from more than 3,500 trade permits at the end of 2015, to only 551 valid permits in December 2017, according to the report.
“Following Operation Protective Edge in 2014, there was a noticeable shift in the rhetoric of Israeli security and political officials, acknowledging that well-being in Gaza and its economic development are linked with Israel’s security,” the report reads.
“Israel’s access policy vis-à-vis Gaza does not reflect this recognition. In fact, since the end of 2015 and throughout 2017, restrictions on freedom of movement were exacerbated, further impeding travel to and from Gaza, and making this year the worst for access since 2014.”