EREZ CROSSING STILL CLOSED AS GAZA, RAMALLAH TRADE ACCUSATIONS

Gaza, 20 Rabiul Awwal 1436/11 January 2015 (MINA) – Despite an announcement by Gaza officials that the Erez crossing into Israel had re-opened Friday morning, a source at the Palestinian liaison said employees had suspended work due to the entry of Hamas security officials into the area the day before.

Sources at the Palestinian liaison told Ma’an Friday morning that there were “no Palestinian liaison employees on the crossing,” all of whom had apparently refused to work given the dispute which occurred on Thursday, caused by the arrival of Hamas security officials at the crossing, Ma’an News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Officials in Gaza, however, disputed the allegations put forward by PA employees, saying that they had abandoned their posts and that the crossing was working normally Friday, albeit with their seats empty.

As part of the unity government agreement between Ramallah-based Fatah and Gaza-based Hamas, the Erez land crossing into Israel is supposed to be staffed by Palestinian Authority employees in order to assure Israel that construction material will not make its way into Hamas hands.

In return, Israel has promised to ease the eight-year-old siege of Gaza, which largely prevents construction material — as well as almost everything else — from entering, causing great hardship for Palestinians who have been regularly bombed by Israel in the meantime.

Director of the Gaza crossings and borders department, Maher Abu Sabha, said that the Palestinian liaison closed the Erez crossing on Thursday and left Palestinians stuck there, unable to move, while allowing only foreigners to cross.

Abu Sabha added in a press statement that “what happened on the crossing on Thursday is that the Palestinian liaison refused to allow two members of the Palestinian police, who help passengers on the crossing every day, to take shelter from the rain and cold inside the liaison’s offices.”

“This forced us to erect a mobile home for the policemen to take shelter in. The Palestinian liaison said the Israeli side rejected this step on our part, which later turned out to be untrue,” he said.

Abu Sabha said that a number of people were stuck at the crossing after the employees closed it, and the police re-opened the gates and allowed Palestinians to cross back into Gaza.

He said that on Friday the crossing was open in both directions, despite that lack of liaison employees. (T/P010/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)