Israel has decided to expand the quota of workers coming to work in the country from the Gaza Strip by an additional 1,500, the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced Friday.
The quota of Arabs from the Gaza Strip allowed entry into Israel for work and business will be expanded by an additional 1,500 employment licenses, to a total of 15,500 permits.
“The continuation of the civil policy will be possible according to the assessment of the situation and the preservation of security stability,” COGAT said.
This new move comes just weeks after the ending of Operation Breaking Dawn against the Islamic Jihad in the Strip.
This addition of economic-related work permits is being made in parallel with the work being done to implement Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s decision to raise the quota of Gazans working in Israel to 20,000. These numbers do not include the Arabs coming from the Judea and Samaria areas.
COGAT presented data earlier this month indicating a significant economic improvement in the Strip, following Gantz’s policy of boosting Gaza’s local economy. In the first half of 2022, there was a 27.7% increase in the volume of exports from Gaza to the Palestinian Authority territories in Judea and Samaria, and a 93.8% increase in exports from the Gaza Strip to the rest of Israel. There was a 311% increase in the volume of entries from Gaza into Israel at the Erez crossing. In addition, the unit presented graphs that show a significant improvement in the living conditions of the citizens of Gaza following the Israeli policy, including an increase in daily wages and a drop in unemployment.
Head of COGAT, Maj. Gen. Ghasan Alyan has stated that “the residents of Gaza must know that we have no interest in being dragged into a war against them, and the Israeli security establishment will continue to allow a civilian humanitarian policy towards the Gazan public, but this is subject to the preservation of security stability.”
“As long as Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip try to break the peace – Israeli policy will change accordingly. I suggest that the residents of Gaza take a look at Juda and Samaria, and the steps that Israel is promoting there, and realize what is at stake and what damage Hamas is causing them. Hamas is an enemy of the State of Israel and, unfortunately, also of the residents of Gaza,” he said.
