The Egyptian-hosted donors' forum on Monday for rebuilding Gaza may force Israel to open up Gaza crossings for materials that also can be used for terror. The Sharm el-Sheikh conference drew more than $4.4 billion in pledges, including $300 million from the United States, on the condition that none of the money will go to Hamas.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who formally announced the pledge at the forum, also brought up the subject of the Gaza crossings when she met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
She echoed arguments made by Hamas and most of the international community that opening the crossings would help the Gaza population with humanitarian needs. Hamas has been campaigning for the re-opening of the crossings to commercial traffic since Israel closed them following the terrorist organization’s takeover of Gaza from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in mid-2007.
The Arab world, along with United Nations agencies operating in Gaza, has claimed for more than a year that a humanitarian crisis is imminent. The call to re-open the crossings has been reported by foreign and Israeli media without noting that Israel generally has kept them open for humanitarian aid.
The government ordered the crossings closed completely at different times last year following Hamas terrorist attacks aimed at disrupting the flow of goods through the Kerem Shalom, Karni and Erez crossings and the Nahal Oz fuel depot.
Hamas also wants an open border at the divided city of Rafiah, half of which is in Gaza and half in Egypt. It is the heart of the Philadelphi Route, where hundreds of smuggling tunnels have been built to allow smuggling of weapons and drugs as well as goods and merchandise.
Israel has allowed thousands of tons in humanitarian aid to enter Gaza the past several weeks, but Hamas and the U.N. blame the partial closure for crippling the economy in the area.
"The fundamental problem is that Israel will not allow adequate flows of materials or people into Gaza," Michael Bailey, spokesman for the humanitarian aid organization Oxfam International, told Reuters, which periodically disseminates articles by a U.N. agency severely critical of Israel.
The economy in the Gaza region was growing until 2000, when the Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War, forced Jewish farmers in Gush Katif to stop employing Arab workers.
The economy deteriorated and virtually collapsed following the Hamas military takeover, which prompted Israel to close the crossings into the area. Hamas and most of the international community the past two years have blamed Israel for a “humanitarian crisis.”
IDF Major Peter Lerner, spokesman for Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), stated that Israel “will not allow Hamas to build new bunkers or use piping to build missiles."
Lerner reported on Sunday that despite the continuing rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel, more than 14,000 tons of aid and more than two million liters of fuel entered Gaza last week. Israel also accepted 1,563 patients from Gaza for medical care.
Since the end of Operation Cast Lead, more than 120,000 tons of aid have passed through Gaza crossings.