Hamas on Tuesday told traders in Gaza that starting Wednesday it would ban Israeli produce from entering the Gaza Strip, according to a tweet by Gal Berger, head of the Palestinian Affairs Desk at Kan, Israel’s Public Broadcasting Corporation News.
On average, 30-40 truckloads of produce enter Gaza every day, according to Berger, as the Gaza market regularly consumes Israeli fruit, mainly bananas, mangoes, apples, oranges, and grapes.
“Hamas’ goal is to punish Israeli farmers, and the fact that the Gazans would be deprived of fruits as a result is not its concern, let them not eat fruit,” Berger commented.
Israel sells Gaza produce that does not meet the standards of its local markets.
Meanwhile, also according to a Berger tweet, Israel has banned the entry of construction materials intended for UN projects in Gaza. Between 150 – 200 trucks entered the Strip on Tuesday, Berger reported, all of them carrying humanitarian aid: food, fuel, medical equipment, wheat, straw for cattle, vegetables and fruits (those last two will not be coming in Wednesday, apparently).
The goods that were barred from entering Tuesday: cement, iron, wood, electrical appliances, marble, ceramics, clothes, shoes and whatever else that wasn’t classified as humanitarian aid.
As JewishPress.com reported earlier, Israel announced the new measures on Sunday in response to the incessant arson terror attacks against southern Israel emanating from the enclave.
The Hamas Political Bureau on Tuesday issued a press release in which it “welcomed all efforts exerted to alleviate the suffering of our besieged people in the Gaza Strip,” adding that it “welcomes all serious initiatives with open arms and appreciates the efforts made by more than one party in this regard.”
In this context, the Political Bureau announced that it “deplores the PA’s attempt to disrupt these efforts under a false illusion – that the easing of the humanitarian situation in Gaza is part of the ‘Deal of the Century.’ This siege, in which the PA is explicitly contributing to by imposing sanctions, cutting salaries and obstructing regional and international efforts to alleviate the suffering, is splitting the Gaza Strip and the West Bank further apart, whether the PA, in placing these obstacles, is doing so intentionally or unintentionally to help pave the way for ‘Trump’s Deal.'”
And, so, just so there won’t be any misunderstandings, the Hamas Political Bureau declared that it “strongly condemns any official or unofficial Arab or local attempts to normalize relations with the Zionist entity. At the same time, the Politburo highly values all Arab, Islamic and international models that boycott the Occupation and oppose normalization with it as a criminal racist entity.”
Now we know.