IDF bans laptops, food, toiletries for Palestinians leaving Gaza

Palestinians are no longer allowed to bring sandwiches with them when exiting the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians cross into Gaza at the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza on September 3, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Palestinians cross into Gaza at the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza on September 3, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Israeli military has instituted a travel ban on food, toiletries and most electronic devices for Palestinians exiting the Gaza Strip.

The army sent the new directive to Gisha, an Israeli NGO that promotes freedom of movement for Palestinians, a day before it went into effect earlier this month.

The directive was not, however, published in the “Status of Closure Authorizations,” a document meant to inform Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank about restrictions on movement.

Not even USB drives

Even Palestinians traveling abroad, who must take a bus directly from the Gaza border — through Israel — to Jordan, are subject to the new restrictions.

Palestinians in Gaza are no longer allowed to bring their laptops, toiletries or hard-sided luggage when exiting Gaza through the only regularly active passenger border terminal, Israel’s Erez crossing. Even Palestinians traveling to conferences, for business, or for studies abroad are not allowed to bring laptop computers.

Palestinians walk past a gasoline-powered generator in the old market of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, June 9, 2017. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
Palestinians walk past a gasoline-powered generator in the old market of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, June 9, 2017. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

“Every Tuesday there is an organized ride from Erez Crossing for those who want to travel abroad, which takes them directly to Allenby Bridge so that they can go on to Jordan. Most of [the passengers] are students, especially at this time of the year,” said Gisha’s Intake Coordinator Shadi Butthish. “These are people who are traveling to get graduate degrees because Israeli policy does not allow Palestinian undergraduate students to travel.”

“Naturally, they would need to take laptops and tablets with them on their travels,” Butthish continued. “Even USBs will need to remain behind in the Strip. People who are flying abroad for a few years won’t be able to bring their electric shavers.”

Non-Palestinians are exempt from the new restrictions, as long as they declare any electronic devices included in their luggage.

Israel has held Gaza under a strict blockade since 2007, after Hamas won an election in the Strip and took over the enclave. Since then, it has restricted basic goods from entering Gaza, and has significantly limited the number of people who can enter and exit the Strip — effectively cutting it off from the rest of the world. After the 2014 Gaza war, Israel pledged to join international efforts to rehabilitate Gaza, saying it would ease the passage of goods and people to and from the Strip.

The Israeli army sent the following response:

“The entry into or passage through Israel is not a natural right. Unfortunately, we have seen repeated and varying attempts by the Hamas terror organization to exploit the population for purposes of terrorism against Israel. Accordingly, following a collaborative effort by all of the security authorities, including the [IDF’s] Land Crossings Authority, it was decided to update the security regulations at the Erez Crossing. The changed regulations apply to [Gaza] residents when they enter Israel from the Gaza Strip. The regulations are changed according to the various populations and the purpose of the permit in their possession.”

This post was originally published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.