Increased Activity Reported at Gaza Border - Jerusalem Prayer Team

This is not a story about terrorism or war (although the title was crafted for readers to infer that). This is about the everyday things that happen at the Israel-Gaza border that don’t make world headlines.

 

Just because activity at the border does not make world headlines, doesn’t mean it is not important. In fact, what happens there is very important. Some of it is eye-opening. Read on to learn what really happens every day at the Israel-Gaza border. To help envision what happens we will be using information from last month’s (December 2012) report issued by Israel’s official Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGA).

 

Let’s get the big picture first. During the month of December, 6,298 truckloads of merchandise passed through the Kerem Shalom Crossing and into Gaza. If the crossing was open every day during December, which is probably was not, that’s an average of 203 trucks entering Gaza every day. Anyone familiar with logistics will understand that the majority of those trucks are trying to get through at the same time, which creates massive traffic jams. Border crossing are a lot like airports – jam packed when the flights are arriving and passengers are making connections; as quite as a church on Monday morning after the fights have taken off.

 

Here is what comprised those truckloads:

 

- 58 truckloads of agricultural inputs, e.g., seeds and fertilizer

- 132 truckloads of clothing and shoes

- 186 truckloads of electrical products

- 406 truckloads of ceramics and plumbing products

- 1,392 truckloads of food

- 2,511 truckloads of construction materials

 

If you are particularly astute, you may have already noticed that those numbers don’t add up to 6,298. That is partially due to some items, like cooking gas, not being measured in truckloads, but in tons. 3,131 tons of cooking oil were delivered across the border during the month. Almost 88% of all the goods being transferred into Gaza were from the private sector. The balance was humanitarian aid from international organizations.

 

In addition to the truck traffic, Israel issued over 3,600 permits for persons wishing to exit the Strip. Over 2,000 of those permits were for businessmen, plus more than 1,600 for persons and their companions seeking medical treatment, 85 permits to attend weddings, funerals, or other family events, and 67 permits for employees of international organizations.

 

You can see that the Israel-Gaza border is a busy place in times of peace as well as in times of conflict. Somehow the world at large seems to believe that the Israeli government has held the people in Gaza hostage. The reality is quite to the contrary. In light of the recurring hostilities directed from Gaza towards Israel, the government had no choice but to secure the border to help protect people living on either side. Even during the eight days of conflict in November 2012 one of Israel’s priorities was to keep the crossing secure so that food and other supplies could reach their intended destination.

 

Israel continually demonstrates a firm resolve to protect its citizens and its territory while trying to live in peace. They are not out to get anybody, but they reserve the right to protect what is theirs. It is not only legal to do so, it is a moral obligation. Peace is a hard thing to protect, so we are committed to praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Will you join with us?

 

For more on this story, visit: Jerusalem Prayer Team Articles Page.

 

 

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