Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., March 05, 2008 Adar1 28, 5768 | | Israel Time: 13:27 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Advertising
Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
A Palestinian man filling jerry-cans at a gas station in Gaza City on Sunday. (AP)
Last update - 18:16 18/06/2007
Jordan to transfer 450 tons of food, medical supplies to Gaza
By Guy Leshem and Avi Bar-Eli

Jordan announced Monday that it was sending 450 tons of food and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip to help stave off a humanitarian crisis there.

A royal palace statement said the aid, worth millions of dollars, will be dispatched Tuesday upon the orders of Jordan's King Abdullah II.

King Abdullah has requested the dispatch of food aid and other urgent humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip to alleviate human suffering caused by a shortage in basic foodstuffs and other commodities, the palace statement said.
Advertisement
Residents of Gaza are suffering following recent fighting between rival factions Fatah and Hamas. The fighting subsided when Hamas took control of Gaza, effectively splitting the Palestinian territories. Fatah remains in control of the West Bank.

Monday's statement quoted Abdul-Salam Abbadi, the Secretary of the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization, as saying that more shipments will follow soon. We hope the current shipment will find its way into Gaza soon, he added.

Jordan has sent at least 226 aid convoys of food and medical supplies worth 48 million Jordanian Dinars ($68 million) to the West Bank and Gaza over the past three years, according to the statement.

Also on Monday, the Red Cross transferred a shipment of 11 boxes containing medical supplies, mostly antibiotics, into the Gaza Strip. The transfer was made at the Erez Crossing, and was coordinated between Red Cross teams in Israel and in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier Monday, Israeli fuel company Dor Alon restored normal supplies to the Gaza Strip, a day after cutting off supplies to the Hamas-controlled territory.

"Beginning today, we have resumed the regular supply of fuel to the Gaza Strip," a statement released by Dor Alon.

Dor Alon halted the supply of gasoline and natural gas to the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip, with the exception of power stations, after the company was unable to establish contact with its Palestinian partners there.

A representative of Palestinian petrol companies had warned on Sunday that the territory could run out of fuel for cars and cooking within two days if Israel did not restore supplies.

According to sources involved in Israeli trade with the Palestinians in Gaza, supplies of some goods in the Gaza Strip are expected to last only two weeks at most.

"There is already a shortage of drugs and some foodstuffs," said a businessman from Gaza, "and the main problem is the continuous rise in prices for essential goods."

The Israeli economy is losing about NIS 8 million a day in direct damages from the closure of the Gaza Strip as a result of the Hamas takeover.

The main product supplied to the Palestinians is fuel, with annual sales of NIS 2.15 billion in 2006.

Dairy and fresh foods supplier Tnuva is one of the companies that will be affected most; it is the biggest food supplier to Gaza.

Another sector to be hurt is fruit, with an estimated 15 percent of all Israeli fruit production exported to Gaza. These include bananas, plums, peaches and mangoes estimated at 70,000 tons a year.

Food sales totaled NIS 250 million in 2006. In the past such sales had reached NIS 600 million a year, but as a result of the security situation, business dropped in recent years.

In some cases this fruit is grown specifically for Gaza and is not sold in Israel, and it will be extremely difficult for farmers to find alternative markets in Israel or overseas.

The Israel Customs Authority has directed all importers who do business with Gaza to stop transfering all goods to the Karni border crossing immediately. The significance of this order is the cessation of all imported items into the Gaza Strip.

The management of the customs authority explained that its decision is based on the fact that the main gateway for such items, Karni, has been closed until further notice. The decision will keep the goods from piling up at the border crossing. The imports from overseas will be stored in bonded warehouses in the Ashdod port.

This week 4,600 trucks had been expected to pass through the Karni crossing, according to figures from the Israel Airports Authority, which manages the crossings into Gaza. Some 3,600 were expected to depart Israel for Gaza, with the remaining 1,000 going in the opposite direction.

The imports in question range from expensive electronic items to cheap clothing and toys. Israeli goods entering Gaza are mostly building materials such as steel and cement, which make up two-thirds of all imports, and the rest is mostly food and agricultural products, such as wheat, sugar and flour. The value of all these goods is estimated at about NIS 3 billion a year.

Dire outlook for Palestinian exports
Palestinian exports to Israel are also expected to be harmed seriously.

Today such exports are estimated at NIS 4 million a day. Most of these goods are fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers, and other products such as bamboo furniture and textiles.

Many of the major Israeli fashion chains such as Castro and Renuar purchase the textile products.

Agricultural exports from Gaza are sent abroad through Agrexco and are mostly flowers, cherry tomatoes and strawberries in season. Gaza also exports food products and ice cream overseas via Israel.

Also, since next year is the Jewish sabbatical year, a number of firms had arranged to import Gaza vegetables to Israel, and it is no longer certain that these arrangements will be carried out.

Shalom Harari, a former adviser to the defense minister and a terrorism researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, said the crossings are a political and social lifeline, not just an economic one. He said that since Hamas took control in Gaza there is no longer anyone to talk to on the other side. Mohammed Dahlan's Preventive Security forces had controlled the crossings until recently.

According to Harari, there is no international body or business that will risk continuing to work with the Palestinian Authority in Gaza if they want to guard their money.

Ben-Eliezer: Stop all assistance to Gaza Strip
"All assistance and aid for the Gaza Strip should be stopped," National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Army Radio on Sunday. "I am stopping everything until I understand what is happening over there. We simply have to increase the isolation of Gaza from Judea and Samaria; close them off completely. The only opening that should remain open is toward Rafah."

Ben-Eliezer has scheduled a meeting at his office for Wednesday to discuss the supply of water, fuel and electricity to the PA. However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided that for now Israel will continue to supply water, electricity and medical services, and will find a way to provide humanitarian aid including food through international organizations.

Regarding electricity, the Palestinians are also almost completely dependent. The power stations that run on diesel fuel supplied daily by Israel produce 100 megawatts, though in theory they could supply 144 megawatts if it weren't for technical problems. Last summer the Israel Air Force bombed the transformer station connected to these plants, though it has been partially restored with Egyptian help.

This accounts for about a third of Gaza's electricity use. The rest comes from 11 high-tension lines provided by the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). Last year the IEC supplied 3.1 billion kilowatt-hours to the Palestinians, about a quarter of that to Gaza, worth NIS 1.2 billion.

Israel also supplies the Palestinians with water. On top of local wells, Mekorot provides 40 million cubic meters of water to the West Bank, and another 5 million to Gaza every year.

The price of the water was fixed in a 1996 agreement with the Palestinians at NIS 2 per cubic meter, for a total of NIS 90 million a year
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
UN hushes
Human Rights Council observes moment of silence for Gaza 'martyrs.'
Hitler's sign
Document shows that British spies hired a flamboyant astrologer in World War II.
  1.   NIS 2 for water & free fuel/Electricity!!! 10:25  |  Rufus 18/06/07
  2.   supplied goods 10:30  |  colin 18/06/07
  3.   As the Occupying Power Israel is obliged to maintain services 10:36  |  Clickfool 18/06/07
  4.   #3, Israel is no longer the occupying power 11:24  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 18/06/07
  5.   Hamas tamed = Israel electricity 11:25  |  moshe shen 18/06/07
  6.   #3 Clickfool 11:26  |  Yonatan 18/06/07
  7.   How long will they last? 11:27  |  Yonatan 18/06/07
  8.   #3 clicksassenach 12:24  |  Highlander 18/06/07
  9.   Local currencies or Shekels 12:31  |  Dr D 18/06/07
  10.   #4 Well, Cipora thinks that repetition will do the trick 12:34  |  Johnboy 18/06/07
  11.   To # 5 12:34  |  Dr D 18/06/07
  12.   #5 moshe shen mentions a glimmer of truth 12:37  |  Johnboy 18/06/07
  13.   #6 Beg to differ, Yonatan 12:47  |  Johnboy 18/06/07
  14.   TO #3 CLICKFOOL, OUR INDEFICTIBLE SUPPORT OF ISRAEL! 12:59  |  MOSHEH 18/06/07
  15.   Dor Alon as the terrorists partners 13:04  |  Arn 18/06/07
  16.   What nonsense 13:07  |  Murray 18/06/07
  17.   stupidity - gasoline will fuel trucks to fire missiles ! 13:07  |  redmike 18/06/07
  18.   stop Kassams 13:16  |  Wade 18/06/07
  19.   #4 Cipora - Israel still controls the the population registry 13:18  |  A Bethlehemite 18/06/07
  20.   Nothing has changed. 13:21  |  Paulo 18/06/07
  21.   Answer to #3 13:32  |  Steve 18/06/07
  22.   Israel is still the Occupying power and this question has been 13:32  |  lakshmi 18/06/07
  23.   To Jonathan #6 - Clickfool suffers from ADD 13:39  |  Bob 18/06/07
  24.   For Steve # 21 14:05  |  Clickfool 18/06/07
  25.   to # 4 Cipora 14:54  |  Clickfan 18/06/07
  26.   Just a question to everybody here 15:05  |  J.M.Jordan 18/06/07
  27.   #13 Beg to diffeer, Johnboy 15:08  |  Yonatan 18/06/07
  28.   Let the gas and water flow 15:08  |  Hermanni 18/06/07
  29.   Read and asnwer 15:13  |  Yonatan 18/06/07
  30.   Israel is not occupying Gaza 15:16  |  Ron 18/06/07
  31.   ClickFOOL and the like 15:17  |  Mike 18/06/07
  32.   normal fuel supplies 15:18  |  JL 18/06/07
  33.   clicky on occupying powers & the like 15:20  |  Rufus 18/06/07
  34.   Do NOT be fooled. 15:21  |  J.Sheremia 18/06/07
  35.   rules of warfare 15:43  |  Paul Freedman 18/06/07
  36.   Haaretz reveals its bias 15:44  |  Jasmine Murphy 18/06/07
  37.   What would happen if the shoe were on the other foot? 15:47  |  Jasmine Murphy 18/06/07
  38.   Jasmine Murphy`s weird keyboard... 15:58  |  Rufus 18/06/07
  39.   WOW, pretty generous for an "Apartheid" state 15:58  |  RT 18/06/07
  40.   Clickfool the right to self defense 16:06  |  British academic 18/06/07
  41.   The Gaza Strip is Hostile Territory 16:18  |  Josh 18/06/07
  42.   Rufus Timbuckthree 16:26  |  Jasmine Murphy 18/06/07
  43.   "pretty generous for an Apartheid state" 16:27  |  Marteen Freid 18/06/07
  44.   Ms. Clickfool 16:35  |  ernie 18/06/07
  45.   What a mess Hamas has created. 16:50  |  Mark 18/06/07
  46.   Jasmeine, please recheck your PC! 16:58  |  Rufus 18/06/07
  47.   GAZA SUPPLIES 16:58  |  OLIVER MASTERMAN 18/06/07
  48.   40British Academic,for starters,get off your high horse,israel 17:01  |  lakshmi 18/06/07
  49.   Click you Fool 17:23  |  Stan 18/06/07
  50.   Can you imagine Hamas returning the favor to Israel? 17:43  |  The Equalizer 18/06/07
  51.   lakshmi on Marwan Barghouti & Israel. 17:59  |  Rufus 18/06/07
  52.   49Stan,israel is still officially in Occupation of Gaza because 18:01  |  lakshmi 18/06/07
  53.   Hamas in Gaza 18:03  |  Dik 18/06/07
  54.   Exchange supplies for Shalit 18:10  |  Edifice 18/06/07
  55.   Rufus Timbuckthree 18:11  |  Jasmine Murphy 18/06/07
  56.   Lakshmi - no more racist than pakistan 19:14  |  British academic 18/06/07
  57.   Hamas charter vs Israel`s charter 19:36  |  Tim 18/06/07
  58.   Israel is not "giving" the fuel 19:42  |  Interested bystander 18/06/07
  59.   Quid pro quo 19:49  |  EG 18/06/07
  60.   Let them use the tunnels to smuggle water and fuel into Gaza 19:53  |  Man deVoshkes 18/06/07
  61.   Tim - I thought one fifth of Israels population was muslim 19:57  |  British academic 18/06/07
  62.   #58 - payment always had to be deducted taxes 20:18  |  redmike 18/06/07
  63.   # 52 Some people are disposable? 20:27  |  Lynn 18/06/07
  64.   And in Christian Canada? #57 20:29  |  Lynn 18/06/07
  65.   Quid pro quo 20:32  |  Wolf 18/06/07
  66.   Israel`s ongoing war crimes against the Palestinians 20:39  |  Clickfool 18/06/07
  67.   provide civilians needs 21:57  |  roberta 18/06/07
  68.   Food for Shalit 23:13  |  Pierre Juno 18/06/07
  69.   To Clickfool 00:45  |  Bob 19/06/07
  70.   #27 Then you are incorrect, Yonatan 01:42  |  Johnboy 19/06/07
  71.   Opportunistic `aid` 03:54  |  Hannah 19/06/07
  72.   #69, Johnboy 03:56  |  Hannah 19/06/07
 Today Online
MI: Iran arming Hezbollah with missiles via Turkey
Responses: 63
Leviev: Zionism is bankrupt due to 'new American religion'
Responses: 43
Moshe Arens: A full-scale invasion of Gaza is too much to expect
Responses: 15
Rosner: Americans have a favorable view of Israel, especially Republicans
Responses: 15
Israeli scientists wonder: Could seaweed power the world?
Responses: 12
Rosner's Domain
Americans have a favorable view of Israel. Democrats, less so
Young American Jews are not alienated from Israel
Poll: Should Abbas and Olmert continue their talks?
Factor: What's wrong with Obama?
Rosner's Mailbox: McCain is a trimmer Sharon


More Headlines
12:56 Abbas: Peace talks on hold until Israel agrees to Gaza truce
13:26 Katyushas fired at Ashkelon; gov't decides to press on with IDF ops
03:42 MI: Iran arming Hezbollah with missiles sent via Turkey
02:23 IDF officers: We faced fierce but unorganized resistance in Gaza
11:04 Leviev: Zionism is bankrupt because of 'new American religion'
10:52 Clinton scores crucial wins in Texas, Ohio; McCain wins GOP nomination
09:01 Israel, Ukraine deal lets Yad Vashem exhibit Holocaust artist's work
10:27 Israeli scientists wonder: Could seaweed power the world?
12:30 Ahmadinejad suspends talks with EU after UN resolution against Iran
09:17 What's wrong with Obama?
06:09 Police say security fence has reduced crime in Jerusalem
10:50 Ashdod police believe they identified mother of abandoned baby
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Free the Palestinians from:
Corrupt Kleptocracy, Tyrannical Theocracy, Abysmal Anarchy
Long-term Israel programs
MASA is your gateway. More programs. More grants.
NEW! Dan Boutique Jerusalem Hotel
Hip Dan Hotel in Jerusalem. Attractive Introductory Rates
7589 rockets fired so far
HELP US TO HELP THEM
Marina Royale Herzelia Pituach
Your Luxurious Suite While Staying in Israel
Fattal Hotel Chain
Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel
Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved