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Gaza Threatens To Halt Israeli Fruit Imports
[Ynet] After Israel refuses to let shipment of 135 tons vegetable bound from the Strip to the West Bank and Jordan through the Kerem Shalom crossing, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, says it'll stop importing from Israel.Gazoo's Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-run agriculture ministry threatened on Monday to stop importing Israeli fruit to the Paleostinian territory in response to what it said was vegetable exports being blocked. The warning came months after a 50-day bloody conflict between Israel and bully boyz in the Gazoo Strip, leaving the enclave in humanitarian and economic crisis. "If Israel doesn't reverse its decision to halt the export of Paleostinian agricultural produce... we will ban the entry of fruit" from Israel, a ministry statement said. It said Israel on Sunday refused to let through the Kerem Shalom goods crossing some 12 trucks destined for the West Bank and Jordan and carrying 135 tons of vegetables worth $149,000 (120,000 euros). Gazoo has been choked by an eight-year blockade which Israel imposed after Hamas kidnapped one of its soldiers in a cross-border raid. The Jewish state controls two of the tiny coastal territory's three crossings - Kerem Shalom in the south and the Erez personnel crossing in the north. Egypt controls the third crossing at Rafah in the south. After Operation Protective Edge ended on August 26, the international community, including the International Monetary Fund, urged Israel to loosen the blockade to allow in crucial humanitarian aid and to revive the ailing economy. Israel has allowed a small amount of construction material into Gazoo to help rebuild some of the tens of thousands of homes destroyed by air strikes and artillery, but has not palpably eased the blockade. The export of farm produce is a key source of income for Gazoo, home to 1.8 million Paleostinians. Exports from Gazoo currently stand at around 2 percent of what they were before the blockade. Posted by: trailing wife 2014-11-26 |
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