Israel has announced that it is increasing by 1,500 the number of entry permits granted to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, an enclave that has been under Israeli blockade for 15 years.
The move follows three days of hostilities in early August between Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip, which left 49 Palestinians dead.
“The Defense Minister has decided to increase by 1,500 the number of entries into Israel for Palestinians from Gaza for work and commercial purposes, bringing the total to 15,500,” said Cogat, the Israeli Defense Ministry body that oversees political activities in the Palestinian Territories. .
The decision will take effect on August 21 and its duration will depend on the security situation, Cogat added.
The measure was announced before US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, but was postponed after rockets were fired on July 16 from Gaza into Israeli territory. The Israeli army had retaliated by hitting positions of the armed Islamist movement Hamas.
The Jewish state has imposed a strict blockade on this small territory since 2007, the year Hamas took power in the Palestinian enclave.
The work permits, combined with better wages in Israel, are a breather for the economy of Gaza, an impoverished enclave of nearly 2.3 million people plagued by unemployment approaching 50 percent.
The majority of workers are employed in the construction sector and agriculture.
The Israeli announcement comes into effect nearly two weeks after the end of hostilities between Israel and Islamic Jihad.
The Israeli military announced at the time that it was conducting a “preemptive operation” against the group, which responded by firing rockets into Israel.
The Jewish state had ordered the closure of border crossings, preventing thousands of Gazans from going to work on its territory.
At least 49 Palestinians, including militants as well as civilians and children, have died in this escalation of violence, before an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement was reached.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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