Over the past few months, Israel began easing restrictions on the flow of goods into Gaza. This was met with approval by UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon during his visit to the region. Israel’s policy towards the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip is not stagnant and is always changing in response to regional security. Over this past weekend, the Israeli Cabinet voted to approve a number of measures which will create a much simpler policy towards the closure of Gaza.

The goal of the closure has always been to eliminate the flow of combatants and deny Hamas weaponry which it has, and will continue to use against Israelis and Palestinians. However, the updated policy will make the distinction between what is and what is not allowed into Gaza clearer. All goods, food products, medicine etc. will continue to enter Gaza with no restrictions. But rather than publish a list of what is allowed, the Israeli government has decided it will be simpler to have only a list of what is not allowed. This way, there is no confusion and the world can see that Israel has no intentions to deny Gazans needed goods. Again, everything that is not on the published list of banned materials (grenades and rifles etc.) will pass through any and all Israeli-operated crossings. continue reading…

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