Israel Authorizes 10,000 Entry Permits for Gaza Merchants

Hamas security guards standing next to contraband confiscated this year - File Photo/AP
Hamas security guards standing next to contraband confiscated this year - File Photo/AP
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Israel Authorizes 10,000 Entry Permits for Gaza Merchants

Hamas security guards standing next to contraband confiscated this year - File Photo/AP
Hamas security guards standing next to contraband confiscated this year - File Photo/AP

Israel announced on Wednesday authorizing 3,000 work permits for merchants and workers from the Gaza Strip starting Thursday.

A total of 10,000 Gaza merchants will now be allowed to leave the enclave through the Erez pedestrian crossing, said the head of Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Major General Ghassan Alian.

This decision will contribute to improving the living conditions of Gaza residents, who suffer greatly from the tough economic conditions, Alian noted.

Only those already vaccinated against or recovered from COVID-19 will be allowed to cross, he added.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state. However, he has stressed his government’s commitment to improving living conditions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Following the decision, dozens of Palestinian merchants applied to the Chamber of Commerce in the Strip to obtain work permits in Israel.

There has been a great demand for work permits since Israel announced raising the number of permits from 5,000 to 7,000 last week, an official in the chamber said.

It is noteworthy that Israel had earlier announced it would increase the number of work permits for Palestinians in the West Bank by 15,000 as part of steps to support the Palestinian Authority’s stability and economy.

The new permits will bring the number of Palestinians allowed to work in Israel to 106,000, with another 30,000 Palestinians authorized to work in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The additional work permits “will strengthen the Israeli and Palestinian economies, and will largely contribute to security and stability in the area of Judea and Samaria,” Alian added.

The entry of workers to Israel is “part of the implementation of the truce understandings,” said a Hamas official.

The Strip has a population of approximately 2.1 million people, including some 1.4 million Palestine refugees.

For at least the last decade and a half, the socio-economic situation in Gaza has been in steady decline.

A blockade on land, air, and sea was imposed by Israel following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007.



Witkoff Says US Expects Phase Two of Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal to Proceed

FILE PHOTO: US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo
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Witkoff Says US Expects Phase Two of Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal to Proceed

FILE PHOTO: US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo

President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday the US expects the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal to go forward and that he would visit the Middle East in the coming week.

Witkoff made the comments in a CNN 'State of the Union' interview after being asked about Israel's decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and how he expected the ceasefire to be impacted by developments in the region.

"We have to get an extension of phase one," Reuters quoted Witkoff as saying. "I'll be going to the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday Israel was waiting to deliver 620 Palestinian prisoners and detainees "until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies." Hamas handed over six hostages from Gaza on Saturday.

Some Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released as part of a three-phase ceasefire in Gaza that went into effect just before Trump took office on January 20.

Palestinian officials have cited the blindfolding and binding of hands of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and warnings against holding celebrations at their release as examples of their humiliation by Israeli authorities.
Israel cites Hamas making hostages appear on stage in front of crowds and sometimes speak before they are handed over, as well as parading coffins with hostage remains through crowds.
Witkoff told CNN that Netanyahu was "well-motivated" and that Hamas cannot continue to govern Gaza.