TEL AVIV: After accumulating economic losses in the impoverished coastal enclave, Israel chose to reopen the Erez crossing point on the northern tip of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
According to Major General Ghassan Alyan, coordinator of Government Activities in the Palestinian Territories, "it was decided to resume the entry of workers and merchants from Gaza into Israel through the Erez crossing as of Tuesday," after an assessment of the security situation.
"The opening of the border to merchants and employees, as well as other civilian steps from the Gaza Strip into Israel, is conditioned on regional security and stability." Israel reportedly closed the border point on Sunday after unidentified terrorists fired several rockets from Gaza into southern Israel.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the incident occurred against the backdrop of rising tensions in East Jerusalem and Israeli arrest campaigns in the West Bank. According to Gaza experts, keeping the border open would have been a "quantum leap" in breaking the current condition of economic decline and stagnation caused by the Israeli embargo, which has lasted more than 15 years.
They claim that 12,000 Palestinian workers and merchants enter into Israel every day, sending 5 million Israeli Shekels (USD 1.52 million) in cash liquidity to the coastal enclave. These funds, which were expected to enter Gaza through the workers, would help to alleviate the enclave's population economic, social, and living crisis.
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