Oct 21, 2016 - March 2006 - Israel stops allowing. Palestinian workers into Israel. June 2007 - Gaza blockade. 2016 Mont
GAZA CROSSINGS’ OPERATIONS STATUS: MONTHLY UPDATE OCTOBER 2016 BACKGROUND
Erez
¹
Beit Lahiya !
Longstanding restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza have undermined the living conditions of 1.9 million Palestinians in that area. Many of the current restrictions, originally imposed by Israel in the early 1990s, were intensified after June 2007, following the Hamas takeover of Gaza and the imposition of a blockade. These restrictions continue to reduce access to livelihoods, essential services and housing, disrupt family life, and undermine people’s hopes for a secure and prosperous future. The situation has been compounded by the restrictions imposed since June 2013 by the Egyptian authorities at Rafah Crossing, which had become the main crossing point used by Palestinian passengers in the Gaza Strip, given the above restrictions on the Israeli-controlled crossings.
ed ite
rr an ea n
Se a
!
Jabalya Gaza City
!
Beit Hanoun
! !
Ash Shuja’iyeh
Nahal Oz Karni
M
GAZA 21 300 !
Deir al B alah
ISRAEL !
Khan Yunis Khuza’a !
14 389 Rafah
EGYPT
Crossing Point
!
Sufa
Rafah ¹ » º
Closed Crossing Point Armistice Declaration Line International Boundary
» Kerem ¹ º
5 Km
Shalom
MOVEMENT AND ACCESS OF PEOPLE* EREZ CROSSING
RAFAH CROSSING
• Opened on 20 out of 26 scheduled days, and closed on six days due to Jewish holidays. • The overall number of crossings was 45% below the monthly average recorded since the beginning of 2016 and the lowest since December 2014. • The crossing is accessible only to Israeli-issued permit holders, primarily medical and other humanitarian cases, merchants, and aid workers. • 309 out of 455 permit applications for business people were approved, including permit renewals. • The denial rate for national UN staff from Gaza stood at 52% in October. • According to WHO, the approval rate for medical referrals in October stood at 44%, the lowest such rate since April 2009.
• Exceptionally opened for 7 days. • Since October 2014, the crossing has been closed on all but 72 days, and has been partially open for 33 days since the beginning of this year. • At least 20,000 people are on the waiting list, including approximately 5,200 medical cases and 3,300 students, according to the local authorities. • Prior to the closure of the crossing in 2014, a monthly average of 4,000 people crossed Rafah for health-related reasons.
EREZ: Crossings into Israel
March 2006 - Israel stops allowing Palestinian workers into Israel June 2007 - Gaza blockade
43,440
RAFAH: Crossings in both directions 34,992
31,424
25,813
25,187 21,178 13,899
16,480 15,935 15,615 15,358 15,027 14,147 13,41712,97814,48412,139
13,454
7,234 2,175 2,482 3,337
4,376
4,919 5,756
7,939
7,121
2004 2005 20062007 2008 20092010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Jan
9,595
10,790
8,141
5,640
2,393
1,759 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Monthly Average
3,561 0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Jan
0 Feb
0
2,761
1,959
Mar Apr May Jun 2016 Monthly Total
Monthly Average
2016 Monthly Total
6,661
5,856
Jul
1,565 Aug Sep Oct
MOVEMENT OF GOODS FROM AND INTO GAZA EXIT OF GOODS • The Kerem Shalom crossing operated for exiting goods on 12 out of 26 scheduled days, for daytime hours only.
Truckloads exiting Gaza 777
• 114 truckloads of goods exited Gaza, a 30% decrease compared to the monthly average since the beginning of 2016; trucks exited to the following destinations: - 65 truckloads of agricultural products, furniture and clothing to the West Bank;
481 417 288
- 37 truckloads of agricultural products and scrap metal/aluminum to Israel; and
176 113
- 12 truckloads of agricultural products to international markets.
3
2
18
23
21
15
131 146
166
141
157 110
152
114
19
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Jan Monthly Average
Feb March April May Jun
Jul Aug
Sep
Oct
2016 Monthly Total
* The figures reflect the number of times people crossed, but not the actual number of people crossing. Creation date: 21/10/2016
Feedback:
[email protected]
www.ochaopt.org
http://data.ochaopt.org/gazacrossing.aspx
Information on the status of border crossings and numbers of truckloads is based on data provided by the Gaza Ministry of National Economy, UNRWA, UNSCO and Paltrade (Palestine Trade Center).
GAZA CROSSINGS’ OPERATIONS STATUS: MONTHLY UPDATE - October 2016 ENTRY OF GOODS
Truckloads entering Gaza 11,928
11,630
11,176
10,664
• Kerem Shalom, which is the only functional commercial route between Gaza and the external world, operated on 14 out of 26 scheduled days*.
10,831
• The volume of imports decreased by 24% compared to the monthly average since the beginning of 2016.
10,648 9,391
9,290
9,223
• Rafah commercial crossing opened on four days, allowing 142 truckloads of construction materials to enter Gaza.
9,098
7,890
7,722
7,317
• 7% of the truckloads that entered in October were designated for humanitarian aid agencies.
6,285 5,652 4,815
• 4,545 truckloads carried construction materials, constituting the largest category of imports (53%). These include 1,696 truckloads of materials defined by Israel as ‘dual use’ items.
4,307
4,107 3,305 2,593 2,557 2,236
• Karni, Sufa and Nahal Oz crossings with Israel remained close. * Kerem Shalom crossing is open Sunday - Friday. 2005 2006 1st Half 2nd Half 20082009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug 2007 Monthly Average 2016 Monthly Total
Sep Oct
Goods imported in October 2016 (in truckloads)
Humanitarian vs. commercial imports (in truckloads) 10,220
2,872
Other Construction Materials
9,389
Commercial
2,294 2,073
280
Non-Edible Consumables
193
108
Agricultural Raw Materials
77
Livestock
75
Packaging Applications
57
Education/Stationery
34
4,775
3,427 3,090 3,275
371
Industrial/Electrical Appliances
643
7,153
5,700
Humanitarian
651
Animal Feed
8,571
8,451 7,550
1,507
Human Food Products
Hygiene/Cleaning Supplies
9,803
1,673
Restricted Construction Materials
11,223
10,222
350
962
3,941 3,089
1,504 1,712
2,542
2,198 1,218
1,275 1,410 1,028
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Jan Monthly Average
Feb
Mar
1,841 426
Apr
May
June
772 July
705
Aug
527 Sep
569 Oct
2016 Monthly Total
Entry of restricted basic construction materials in October per sector (in truckloads)* 1,412
127
119
15
Medical Supplies 17 GRM projects**
Petrol (in million litres)
5
Diesel (in million litres)
25
20
15
3 10
0
20052006200720082009201020112012201320142015 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Monthly Average
7 6
0
20052006200720082009201020112012201320142015 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Monthly Average
2016 Monthly Total
Gas (in million kilograms)
5
12 10
2016 Monthly Total
Fuel for power plant (in million litres)
8
4
6
3 4
2
• 6.2 million litres of industrial fuel for the Gaza Power Plant; and • 3,731 tons of cooking gas, which represents around 50% of the estimated needs (7,500 tons), according to the Gas Station Owners’ Association (June 2016 estimate).
2
1 0
FUEL IMPORTS
• 16.7 million litres of petrol and diesel;
5
1
UNDP
Kerem Shalom remained the only crossing available for the import of fuel, allowing the entry of:
4
2
Private sector through Rafah crossing
* Primarily includes cement and steel bars; aggregates were removed from the “dual use” list in 2015. ** The GRM is a temporary agreement between the Government of Palestine and the Government of Israel, brokered by the United Nations in September 2014, to allow the entry of items defined by Israel as having a “dual” civilian/military use. These include building materials for repairs and reconstruction of private housing and infrastructure damaged or destroyed during hostilities, as well as new projects not related to hostilities.
FUEL IMPORTS INTO GAZA 6
UNRWA
20052006200720082009201020112012201320142015 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Monthly Average
Creation date: 7/11/2016
2016 Monthly Total
Feedback:
[email protected]
0 20052006200720082009201020112012201320142015 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Monthly Average
www.ochaopt.org
2016 Monthly Total
http://data.ochaopt.org/gazacrossing.aspx
Information on the status of border crossings and numbers of truckloads is based on data provided by the Gaza Ministry of National Economy, UNRWA, UNSCO and Paltrade (Palestine Trade Center).