Monday, August 29, 2016
Elder of ZiyonIt mentions something that one never sees mentioned:
While the vast majority of people who are repairing or rebuilding their homes are able to access materials, as long as they have the funds and legal property/land rights, the sharp reduction of cement imports in April and May 2016, and the subsequent artificial ceiling of 90 trucks of cement per day through the Gaza GRM, are causing delays in accessing material, particularly for building of new houses.In fact, the report says that 101,759 households that were damaged during the war have acquired materials for repair.
Some other interesting items that one would not know from the media:
Also, the UN wants Israel to import more goods from Gaza.
To fully harness the productive capacity of Gaza’s agricultural sector, the current restriction on exports – including transfers to the West Bank - must be addressed, including by improving the conditions for exporting fresh produce and allowing a larger quantity of produce to be exported to Israel4 and delivered to the West Bank on a more predictable basis.
4. Currently, 250 tons of tomatoes and 55 tons of aubergines are permitted to enter Israel weekly. No other produce is officially allowed, though in practice, other items are occasionally allowed to enter on an adhoc basis.Israel, in fact, is the only country in the world who the UN says must buy and consume Gaza products; the possibility that Israeli consumers don't want to support the economy of a Hamas-run enclave being irrelevant.
Also, while the report makes many demands on Israel to improve the situation in Gaza, it asks literally nothing from Gaza's other neighbor, Egypt. It doesn't demand Egypt provide more goods or construction materials or electricity; it doesn't demand that Egypt allow Gazans to enter and exit through the Rafah crossing - Gazans' fellow Arabs from Egypt are fully justified in their role of the "blockade" even while Israel allows millions of tons of materials to enter Gaza.
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