Blockade of the Gaza Strip

Following the victory of Hamas in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election , Hamas and Fatah formed the Palestinan authority national unity government headed by Ismail Haniya . In 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from in the course of the Battle of Gaza (2007) , by seizing government institutions and replacing Fatah and other government officials with its own. It immediately followed the 2006-2007 economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority following the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. Egypt and Israel lessened the blockade restrictions starting in June 2010. The Gaza Strip has land borders with Israel and Egypt, and a sea border. Egypt and Israel largely keep their borders with the territory sealed. Israel allows only limited humanitarian supplies from aid organizations into the Strip. The amount of goods Israel allows into Gaza is one quarter of the pre-blockade flow. The Israeli navy maintains a sea blockade from three nautical miles offshore. Egypt is constructing an underground steel barrier to prevent circumvention of the blockade through tunnels . Israel maintains that the blockade is necessary to limit Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on its cities and to prevent Hamas from obtaining other weapons. Egypt maintains that it cannot fully open the Rafah crossing since completely opening the border would represent Egyptian recognition of the Hamas control of Gaza, undermine the legitimacy of the Palestinian National Authority and consecrate the split between Gaza and the West Bank. The blockade has been criticized by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon , the United Nations Human Rights Council and other human rights organizations. It is officially supported by the United States . . After international pressures due to civilian activism and the Freedom Flotilla, The 8 June 2010, Mr Benny Begin said that a special commission in Israël will investigate to see if the blockade of Gaza is in accordance with international laws: "The committee that will be formed will examine two questions: Is the naval blockade in line with international law, and is the raid we conducted against the flotilla also in line with international law?" "Hamas takes control of Gaza" . Internal fight: Palestinian abuses in Gaza and the West Bank . "UN Fact Finding Mission finds strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Gaza conflict; calls for end to impunity" .

Gaza Strip , with Israeli-controlled borders and limited fishing zone The blockades of the Gaza Strip refers to a land, air, and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip by Israel from 2007 to present. Egypt has also kept its border with Gaza mostly sealed. After the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip by Israel, in 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative election , triggering the 2006–07 economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority by Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East after Hamas refused to quit violence, respect previous agreements and recognize Israel. In March 2007, Hamas and Fatah formed a Palestinian authority national unity government headed by Ismail Haniya . Shortly after, in June, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in the course of the Battle of Gaza , seizing government institutions and replacing Fatah and other government officials with its own. Following the takeover, Egypt and Israel largely sealed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah had fled and was no longer providing security on the Palestinian side. Israel maintains that the blockade is necessary to limit Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on its cities and to prevent Hamas from obtaining other weapons. Prior to its 2011 opening of the Rafah crossing , Egypt maintained that it could not fully open its side of the border since completely opening the border would represent Egyptian recognition of the Hamas control of Gaza, undermine the legitimacy of the Palestinian National Authority and consecrate the split between Gaza and the West Bank. Items that have at various times been denied importation into Gaza in 2010 include jam, halva , razor blades, light bulbs, candles, matches, books, musical instruments, crayons, clothing, shoes, mattresses, sheets, blankets, pasta, margarine, glucose, varieties of canned food, coffee, chocolate, nuts, food wrappers, fishing rods, coriander , sage , vinegar, nutmeg , cardamon , biscuits,and potato chips, varieties of baby formula, wheat grain, shampoo, plaster, tarpaulin sheets for huts, irrigation pipes, gas for soft drinks, size A4 paper, buttons, cosmetics, toys, newspapers, industrial salts, food flavoring, and livestock such as chicken, donkeys, and cows. Facing mounting international calls to ease or lift their blockade in response to the Gaza flotilla raid , Egypt and Israel lessened the restrictions starting in June 2010. Israel announced that it will allow all strictly civilian goods into Gaza while preventing certain weapons and what it designates as "dual-use" items from entering Gaza. Egypt partly opened the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to Gaza, primarily for people, but not for supplies, to go through. The Israeli NGO Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement reported in a July 2010 publication that Israel continues to prevent normal functioning of the Gazan economy. Israel continues to severely restrict and/or prevent people from entering or exiting Gaza according to Gisha. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) conducted an assessment of the humanitarian impact of the easing of the blockage in January and February 2011 and concluded that they did not result in a significant improvement in people’s livelihoods. Egypt for some time opened the Rafah border crossing permanently as of 28 May 2011. A limited number of women of all ages and men aged below 18 and above 40 were able to enter Egypt without a visa, although there are still severe restrictions on the movement of personnel and goods to and from Gaza. Following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état , Egypt's military has destroyed most of the 1,200 tunnels which are used for smuggling food, weapons and other goods to Gaza. After the August 2013 Rabaa Massacre in Egypt, the border crossing was closed 'indefinitely'. The blockade has been criticized by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon , the United Nations Human Rights Council and other human rights organizations, a criticism that has been officially supported by United States administrations. In June 2010 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the humanitarian needs in the Hamas-controlled area must be met along with legitimate Israeli security concerns. Most of the international institutions consider the blockade illegal. In September 2011, the Chair and Vice-Chair of a UN Panel of Inquiry concluded in the Palmer Report that the naval blockade was legal, based on the right of self-defense during a period of war, and had to be judged isolated from the restrictions on goods reaching Gaza via the land crossings. Concerning the restrictions on goods reaching Gaza via the land crossings the Palmer report stated that they were "a significant cause" of Gaza's unsustainable and unacceptable humanitarian situation. However a Fact-Finding Mission for the UN Human Rights Council chaired by a former judge of the International Criminal Court, as well as a panel of five independent U.N. rights experts concluded that the blockade constituted collective punishment of the population of Gaza and was therefore unlawful. UN envoy Desmond Tutu , United Nations Human Rights Council head Navi Pillay , the International Committee of the Red Cross and some experts on international law consider the blockade illegal. Internal fight: Palestinian abuses in Gaza and the West Bank . The Contemporary Law of Blockade and the Gaza Freedom Flotilla,' in M.N. The Palestine Telegraph . 1 July 2011 . Egypt bans Hamas activities in Egypt . Mar 4, 2014 "Rafah crossing closed after Egypt violence - Middle East" . "UN Fact Finding Mission finds strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Gaza conflict; calls for end to impunity" .

2005–present land, air and sea blockade by Israel and Egypt For the siege of Gaza by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, see Siege of Gaza . Gaza Strip , with Israeli/Egyptian-controlled borders and limited fishing zone The blockade of the Gaza Strip is the ongoing land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel and Egypt temporarily in 2005–2006 and permanently from 2007 onwards, following the Israeli disengagement from Gaza . The blockade was made permanent after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip during the Battle of Gaza , seizing government institutions and replacing Fatah and other Palestinian Authority (PA) officials with Hamas members. Earlier, after Hamas won elections and formed the PA government in March 2006 , led by Ismail Haniya , Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East set conditions before they would continue to provide aid to the PA or have any dialogue with any member of a Hamas-led PA government. These conditions were: recognition of Israel, disavowal of violent actions, and acceptance of previous agreements between Israel and the PA, including the Oslo Accords . Hamas refused to accept these conditions and aid to the PA was stopped and sanctions against the PA imposed. When Hamas took over Gaza, Egypt and Israel largely closed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah and PA forces had fled the Strip and were no longer able to provide security on the Palestinian side. Egypt was worried that Hamas control of Gaza would increase Iranian influence. Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit also explained that opening the Rafah border crossing , the only crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border, would undermine the legitimacy of the PA. Israel said that the blockade was necessary to protect Israeli citizens from " terrorism , rocket attacks and any other hostile activity" and to prevent dual use goods from entering Gaza. Israel has been accused of violating or failing to fulfil specific obligations it had committed to under various ceasefire agreements on different occasions to alleviate or lift the blockade. Imports declined, exports were blocked, and fewer Gazans were given exit permits to Israel and the West Bank." PA President Mahmoud Abbas has expressed his approval of the Egyptian border restrictions. In 2014 and subsequent years, Abbas supported Egypt's crackdown on smuggling tunnels , and welcomed the flooding of the tunnels by Egypt in coordination with the PA. Internal fight: Palestinian abuses in Gaza and the West Bank . The Telegraph . 2012. Despite having agreed to allow in materials for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to rebuild its schools and clinics damaged or destroyed in the three-week war in 2008-09, Israel has permitted only 7% of the necessary amount.' Martin Hartberg, Beyond Ceasefire: Ending the blockade of Gaza. The evidence suggests Israel broke the ceasefire with a raid into the Gaza Strip that killed six Hamas men on 4 Novembneer- the night of the presidential election in the USA. Noam Chomsky , in Elliot N. But Israel maintained the siege and then violated ceasefire agreements directly. The most important instance of this was in 2008. Right before the Israeli invasion, there was a ceasefire. It was observed completely by Hamas. The Israeli government concedes that there was not a single Hamas rocket fired during the ceasefire. Israel nevertheless maintained the siege, and in November 2008, Israeli just invaded Gaza outright and killed half a dozen Hamas activists. After that, rockets started.' Nathan Thrall . In the three months following the ceasefire, its forces made regular incursions into Gaza, strafed Palestinian farmers and those collecting scrap and rubble across the border, and fired at boats, preventing fishermen from accessing the majority of Gaza's waters. . . Israel had committed to holding indirect negotiations with Hamas over the implementation of the ceasefire but repeatedly delayed them . . The talks never took place. The lesson for Hamas was clear.

2005–present land, sea and air blockade by Israel and Egypt For the intensified blockade since 2023, see Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip (2023–present) . The restrictions on movement and goods in Gaza imposed by Israel date to the early 1990s. After Hamas took over in 2007, Israel significantly intensified existing movement restrictions and imposed a complete blockade on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip . In the same year, Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing . The blockade's stated aims are to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza and exert economic pressure on Hamas. Human rights groups have called the blockade illegal and a form of collective punishment , as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits Gazans' freedom of movement. The land, sea, and air blockade isolated Gaza from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory and the world. The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being called an "open-air prison". Exit and entry into Gaza by sea or air is prohibited. There are only three crossings in and out of Gaza, two of them controlled by Israel and one by Egypt . Israel heavily regulates Palestinians' movement through Erez, with applications considered only for a small number of laborers (less than 5% of the number considered in 2000) and for limited medical and humanitarian reasons. Israel's military cooperation with Egypt and its control of the population registry (through which it controls who can obtain the necessary travel documents) gives it influence over movement through Rafah. Imports are heavily restricted, with "dual use" items permitted only as part of donor projects. This includes construction material and computer equipment. Exports are also heavily restricted, with the main impediment to economic development in Gaza being Israel's ban on virtually all exports from the Strip. Israel blockaded the Gaza Strip at various levels of intensity in 2005–2006. Israeli-imposed closures date to 1991. In 2007, after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip , Israel imposed an indefinite blockade of Gaza that remains in place, on the grounds that Fatah and Palestinian Authority forces had fled the Strip and were no longer able to provide security on the Palestinian side. Israel has said the blockade is necessary to protect itself from Palestinian political violence and rocket attacks , and to prevent dual use goods from entering Gaza. Israel has been accused of violating or failing to fulfill specific obligations it has under various ceasefire agreements to alleviate or lift the blockade. Imports declined, exports were blocked, and fewer Gazans were given exit permits to Israel and the West Bank." Human rights groups, international community representatives, and legal professionals have decried the blockade as a form of collective punishment in contravention of international law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention . Rights groups have held Israel mainly responsible as the occupying power . The prime minister is comfortable with limited economic growth in Gaza, particularly as a way to modify Hamas's urge to get into trouble. We still want there to be a discrepancy between economic life in Gaza and the West Bank, but we no longer feel it needs to be so large. Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement . 2023. Exits by Palestinians from Gaza via Erez Crossing – Gisha. The Cairo Review of Global Affairs . The New York Times . House of Commons Library . The Daily Telegraph . 2012. House of Commons Library . After the last big Israeli effort to stop the rockets, in November 2012, it was agreed that, along with a ceasefire, the blockade of Gaza would gradually be lifted and the crossings into Egypt and Israel would be opened. The ceasefire generally held, but the siege continued. According to today's report, Dashed Hopes: Continuation of the Gaza Blockade, imports of construction materials are 11% of the 2007 pre-blockade levels. Despite having agreed to allow in materials for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to rebuild its schools and clinics damaged or destroyed in the three-week war in 2008–09, Israel has permitted only 7% of the necessary amount. Beyond Ceasefire: Ending the blockade of Gaza . The evidence suggests Israel broke the ceasefire with a raid into the Gaza Strip that killed six Hamas men on 4 Novembneer- the night of the presidential election in the USA. Noam Chomsky , in Elliot N. But Israel maintained the siege and then violated ceasefire agreements directly. The most important instance of this was in 2008. Right before the Israeli invasion, there was a ceasefire. It was observed completely by Hamas. The Israeli government concedes that there was not a single Hamas rocket fired during the ceasefire. Israel nevertheless maintained the siege, and in November 2008, Israeli just invaded Gaza outright and killed half a dozen Hamas activists. After that, rockets started.' Thrall, Nathan (21 August 2014). London Review of Books . In the three months following the ceasefire, its forces made regular incursions into Gaza, strafed Palestinian farmers and those collecting scrap and rubble across the border, and fired at boats, preventing fishermen from accessing the majority of Gaza's waters. . . Israel had committed to holding indirect negotiations with Hamas over the implementation of the ceasefire but repeatedly delayed them . . The talks never took place. The lesson for Hamas was clear. Even if an agreement was brokered by the US and Egypt, Israel could still fail to honour it. "Israel-Gaza conflict: Israel 'breaks ceasefire in minutes' as eight-year-old girl killed in air strike" .