Israel has been under increasing international pressure to eliminate or sharply ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip since a May 31 raid by its commandos killed nine pro-Palestinian activists on a ship attempting to bring aid to the beleaguered territory. A move to relax the strict controls announced Wednesday by Israel is unlikely to reduce the harsh criticism or to mitigate the grim conditions the blockade imposes on the every-day lives of ordinary Palestinians.
Israeli officials lifted the ban on certain previously banned food items — including potato chips, cookies, spices, fruit juice and jam — and a few other incidentals like shaving cream. The announcement predictably won little praise in the Gaza, or elsewhere.
The change in blockade rules is essentially meaningless. Many of the items no longer banned were already widely available in the Gaza. Ample supplies of the items reach the territory through the vast network of smuggling tunnels from Egypt. Allowing the same items to legally cross the blockade, then, serves little purpose. Unless, of course, Israel hopes the lifting of restrictions, minimal as they are, might mitigate international criticism of its acts and policies.
There is reason to suspect that might be the case. Gazans don’t need snack foods. What they need are still-banned construction and industrial materials to replace infrastructure decimated by Israeli forces during a 2008 offensive. Israel’s stated goal then — ending the steady stream of rockets attacks from Gaza on Israeli territory — was accomplished, but subsequent Israeli policy has made it nearly impossible for Gaza residents to rebuild the homes, schools, factories and businesses destroyed or heavily damaged then. They should have the opportunity to do so.
Israel is understandably reluctant to allow any material that could conceivably be used by Hamas, the militant, heavily armed group that controls Gaza, to strengthen its control in the region or to attack Israel in the strip. Israelis, for example, say cement, intended for use by ordinary Palestinians to build homes and businesses, could be appropriated by Hamas to build military bunkers. That’s a legitimate concern, but the truth is that Hamas already gets adequate supplies of cement through the tunnels. The blockade simply punishes Palestinians who don’t have the access or cash to obtain smuggled goods.
Resolving that particular issue and others raised by the Gaza blockade enforced by Israel and, in part, by Egypt will be no easier than finding resolution to the broader diplomatic, political and economic problems in the region. What is certain, though, is that the piecemeal and almost meaningless change in blockade rules announced on Wednesday serves little purpose other than to inflame the already heated relationships in the region.