By Xinhua,
Gaza : A Palestinian official said Saturday that the flow of goods into Gaza will remain weak unless Israel opens a key commercial crossing point into the besieged territory.
“The promises to increase the amount and sorts of products that Israel sends to Gaza can not be met unless al-Muntar (Karni) crossing is opened,” said independent lawmaker Jamal al-Khodary, who leads a campaign against the sanctions that Israel imposed on Gaza last year.
Karni’s capacity is bigger than the other crossings that Israel opened after it reached a ceasefire in June with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said al-Khodary.
He said that Israel only allows reduced and limited amounts of goods into Gaza through Sofa crossing and Nahal Oz fuel crossing, but it prevents raw materials from entering.
While Karni’s capacity can reach 400 truckloads per day, Israels ends 80-85 truckloads via Sofa every day. These amounts include eight trucks of cement, 10 truckloads of cloths, 20 truckloads of fruits and the same amount of various food and juice products, according to al-Khodary.
As for Nahal Oz, 120,000 liters of Benzene, 1.2 million liters of diesel and 750 tons of cooking gas pass through its pipes every week.
Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to end violence and ease the siege which Israel imposed on Gaza to isolate Hamas. The deal succeeded to restore relative calm but Hamas says Israel did not open the commercial crossings in the proper way.
During last year fighting, Hamas drove out forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas and, by time, tightened its grip on the impoverished enclave.