Israel said on Thursday it was easing a land blockade of the Gaza Strip that drew heightened international criticism after its deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Hamas-run territory.
A new Israeli-approved product list included all food items, toys, stationery, kitchen utensils, mattresses and towels, said Raed Fattouh, the Palestinian coordinator of supplies to the enclave. But Israel maintained its sea blockade of the coastal strip and a ban on the private import of building materials, vital to widescale reconstruction after Israel’s December 2008-January 2009 war. Hamas called the Israeli measures “media propaganda”. An Israeli government statement, issued after a security cabinet meeting, said “it was agreed to liberalise the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza and expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision”.
Israel has said an unrestricted import of cement could lead to Hamas Islamists seizing the material and using it to rebuild military infrastructure. It already allows in limited quantities of construction material for UN projects.
The announcement did not specify how procedures for the import of commercial goods would change or list any specific products, saying only that Cabinet ministers would decide how to implement the new policy. But it noted “existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war material” would continue, signalling the sea blockade that Israel says is essential to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas would not be lifted.