The Israeli government has approved the introduction into the Gaza Strip of construction materials intended for the private sector in the Strip, and not just for humanitarian projects as has been available until now. This is the first such approval the end of Operation Guardian of the Walls in May.
Kan News reported that in the last two days dozens of trucks with cement, iron and gravel have been brought into the Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Cement and gravel brought into Gaza can now be purchased by any ordinary citizen in the Strip without any restriction. The traders in Gaza are not yet allowed to sell iron to anyone who demands it, since approval has not yet been received from Israel for its sale to private customers, even though quantities of iron have already been imported into the Gaza Strip.
Traders in Gaza have complained that the construction market in Gaza is weak and residents have not yet begun rehabilitating their homes which were damaged in the most recent conflict, as the economic crisis in the Strip and cash shortages significantly reduce purchasing power and many residents in need of cement and construction materials are currently refraining from purchasing them.
Religious Zionism Party chairman MK Bezalel Smotrich attacked the decision to allow construction materials into Gaza. "It pays to kill a soldier, shoot at Sderot in the afternoon, inflate incendiary balloons and send the nightly harassment companies. By these means Hamas obtained cement and iron from Bennett to rehabilitate its offensive tunnel network. Think about what the Bennett who was in the opposition would say about his current self."