On Tuesday 12 January, a senior official in the Gaza ministry of agriculture reported that after eight years of blockade, the first shipment of eight tons of strawberries was exported from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. Another 150 tons are scheduled every month, according to Tahsin al-Saqqa, director of marketing in the Gaza ministry of agriculture.
Al-Saqqa said Israel allowed the export of strawberries from Gaza to the West Bank through Kerem Shalom commercial terminal on the border between southern Gaza Strip and Israel. The Gaza Strip has been under a tight Israeli blockade since the Islamic Hamas movement violently took over the coastal enclave in the summer of 2007, since then Israel has imposed tight security restrictions on import and export.
Al-Saqqa also said exporting strawberries to Europe has been going on, and more than 60 tons were exported from the Gaza Strip to Europe last month.
Israel imposed restrictions on exporting strawberries to the West Bank in fear that such smuggling would harm Israeli strawberry farmers and vendors, according to Gaza farmers.
Source: en.cihan.com.tr