Israel still in control of Gaza, says envoy

Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
Tuesday October 25, 2005
The Guardian

The international Middle East envoy, James Wolfensohn, has accused Israel of behaving as if it has not withdrawn from the Gaza Strip, by blocking its borders and failing to fulfil commitments to allow the movement of Palestinians and goods.

Mr Wolfensohn, the special envoy of the "Quartet" of the US, UN, EU and Russia overseeing the "road map" peace plan, said Israel continued to block the free movement of Palestinians between the strip and Egypt, even though they do not enter Israel. "The government of Israel, with its important security concerns, is loath to relinquish control, almost acting as though there has been no withdrawal, delaying making difficult decisions and preferring to take difficult matters back into slow-moving subcommittees," he wrote in a letter earlier this month to Quartet members.

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Israel has almost entirely sealed off the Gaza Strip since its withdrawal on September 12. Hundreds of Palestinian workers who used to enter Israel each day via the Erez crossing in the north are not now allowed to do so, and the Karni cargo crossing has been closed, except to allow Israelis to import palm leaves for Jewish religious ceremonies earlier this month.

However, Mr Wolfensohn's principal complaint concerns the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only way for most Palestinians to leave and enter the territory. Israel has refused to allow the crossing to reopen, except for periodic humanitarian considerations. "The Israelis have not agreed to accept the EU's generous offer to consider the role of a third party to supervise the crossing," he said. Israel is also blocking the implementation of a proposal by Mr Wolfensohn and the World Bank for a temporary system of convoys to move Palestinians and goods lorries between Gaza and the West Bank.

In an accompanying report to the Quartet, Mr Wolfensohn warned that the lack of agreement was undermining the prospects for rebuilding Gaza. "Without a dramatic improvement in Palestinian movement and access, within appropriate security arrangements for Israel, the economic revival essential to a resolution of the conflict will not be possible," the report said.

Israel denies that it is deliberately stalling, saying that it too has an interest in ensuring political and economic stability in Gaza. But Mark Regev, a foreign ministry spokesman, said the breakdown of an agreement with the Egyptians to control the Rafah crossing immediately after the Gaza pullout, when thousands of Palestinians moved without controls across the border for several days, "didn't strengthen confidence ... Two policy goals have to be balanced; the movement of goods and people, and the obvious security threats," he said. "There won't be perfect solutions. There will be practical solutions that will be win-win."

Mr Wolfensohn also criticised the Palestinian Authority, saying it had compounded its economic problems by raising public sector wages, but had failed to control rising lawlessness, which would undermine the willingness of foreign donors to contribute.

In the West Bank yesterday, Israeli forces killed two Islamic Jihad commanders in the Tulkarem area. Luay Saadi, 30, was the group's military leader in the West Bank and responsible for bomb explosions in Tel Aviv and Netanya and other attacks that killed a total of 12 Israelis. Islamic Jihad threatened "unprecedented revenge" for Saadi's death and threatened an end to a nine-month-long ceasefire.