Last update - 00:00 28/06/2007
Israel opens Karni crossing into Gaza Strip for 'trial operation'
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
Israel opened part of a major commercial crossing with Gaza on Thursday for the first time since the Islamist group Hamas seized control of the coastal strip two weeks ago, UN and Israeli officials said.
"There is a trial operation today. It's a small number of trucks today just to see that it works and hopefully we can do more tomorrow," said Major Peter Lerner, who is part of the Israeli force stationed at the Karni crossing near central Gaza.
Lerner said wheat was transferred to the Palestinian side through a small part of the crossing on conveyor belts.
The wheat was passed on to members of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Gaza forces.
The operation was evidence of the cooperation Israel has maintained with Abbas' people while sidestepping Hamas, in a joint effort to avert a humanitarian crisis in already impoverished Gaza.
Since the Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip, Israel has been reluctant to open crossings with Gaza for fear of terror attacks. On Tuesday, a large explosive device was uncovered close to Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip.
The wheat, weighing about 500 tons, will be processed in mills in Gaza and then bought by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to be distributed to some 860,000 Gazans, UN officials said.
"This is an important development for us at UNRWA because all of our materials come through Karni. We hope that this development today will lead to the permanent opening of Karni," said UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness.
Israel had closed Karni, Gaza's economic lifeline, in an effort to isolate Hamas after it ousted Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah faction.
Israel has allowed humanitarian aid into the territory through smaller crossings.
"We still cannot open the entire crossing due to security concerns," said Shlomo Dror, spokesman for Israel's coordinator for the Palestinian territories.
Dror noted that previously aid has moved in trucks into Gaza through smaller crossings that are less of a security risk.
"On Thursday, the number of trucks that passed through the crossing topped 100 for the first time since the violent Hamas takeover in mid-June - double the daily number needed to stave off food shortages," Dror said.
"The pattern of cooperation with Abbas' men and international agencies is something we intend to preserve. Our model is to strengthen Abu Mazen, not Hamas," he said, using Abbas' nickname.