Israel Increases Work Permits for Gaza Palestinians

 Palestinian workers from Gaza cross the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing to work in Israel. (DPA)
Palestinian workers from Gaza cross the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing to work in Israel. (DPA)
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Israel Increases Work Permits for Gaza Palestinians

 Palestinian workers from Gaza cross the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing to work in Israel. (DPA)
Palestinian workers from Gaza cross the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing to work in Israel. (DPA)

The number of entry permits for Palestinian workers from Gaza will increase to 20,000, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz told military reporters on Thursday.

Gantz further linked the implementation of any key civilian development projects in the coastal enclave with the return of Israelis held in Hamas captivity.

In June, Israel approved issuing 2,000 additional permits for Palestinian workers, raising the figure to 14,000, which later reached 20,000.

The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved the decision following discussions.

This decision comes in line with Israel’s strategic plan to maintain calm.

In return for its implementation, the minister asked the Palestinian Authority to implement trust-building measures.

“We ask it to expand its security activity in in Area A and halt its petitions to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.”

According to Israeli sources, the plan is part of the government’s decision to maintain economic peace while ignoring political peace.

Israel seeks to pressure the ruling Hamas movement against any possible escalation by improving the economic situation in Gaza.

Earlier this year, the number of Gazan workers in Israel did not exceed 5,000. Since then, it has been rising by a few thousands every few months.

Political authorities believe the gradual increase in the number of Palestinian workers will prompt Hamas to consider any escalation since it will take into account that the thriving labor movement is a major factor in supporting the economy.

Workers bring to the enclave up to 90 million shekels per month, in light of the difficult and deteriorating economic situation there.

However, military authorities insist that when Hamas decides to escalate tension it will not consider any economic factor.



Israel Says No Humanitarian Aid will Enter Gaza

A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
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Israel Says No Humanitarian Aid will Enter Gaza

A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP

Israel said Wednesday it would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, where a relentless military offensive has turned the Palestinian territory into a "mass grave", a medical charity reported.

Air and ground attacks resumed across the Gaza Strip from March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas that had largely halted hostilities in the territory.

However, Israel has halted the entry of aid into Gaza since March 2, as the humanitarian crisis continues to grow amid ongoing military assaults which rescuers said killed at least 11 people Wednesday.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday Israel would continue preventing aid from entering the besieged territory of 2.4 million people.

"Israel's policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population," Katz said in a statement, AFP reported.

"No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to enable such aid."

Top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly cited military pressure as the only way to secure the release of the remaining 58 hostages held in Gaza.

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Israeli military operations and the blockage of aid had transformed Gaza into a graveyard for Palestinians and those who help them.

"Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance," said MSF coordinator Amande Bazerolle.

"With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care," she said.

- 'Worst' humanitarian crisis -

The United Nations had warned on Monday that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023.

"The humanitarian situation is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities," said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In a statement, OCHA said no supplies had reached the territory for a month and a half, and medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply.

Israel tightly controls the entry of vital international aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced since the Israeli offensive resumed.

On April 28, the International Court of Justice is set to open hearings on Israel's humanitarian obligations towards Palestinians.

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution in December requesting that The Hague-based top court give an advisory opinion on the matter.

It calls on the ICJ to clarify what Israel is required to do to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population".

Although ICJ decisions are legally binding, the court has no concrete way of enforcing them. They increase the diplomatic pressure, however.

Israel continued to pound Gaza on Wednesday.