Dutch PM: No idea why Israel won't let scanner be used for exports to West Bank

[Jefferson23]

Mark Rutte had been scheduled to attend a festive dedication of the X-ray machine at the Kerem Shalom crossing during his visit, plans to bring up matter with Netanyahu.


Israel’s refusal to allow Gaza to use a scanner machine donated by Netherlands donated to screen exports from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank will be on the agenda at a meeting Sunday night between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Rutte had been scheduled to attend a festive dedication of the X-ray machine at the Kerem Shalom crossing during his visit. Speaking before Israeli and Palestinian peace activists on Sunday, the Dutch prime minister expressed grave disappointment at Usrael's refusal to let the X-ray machine be used. "I don't understand this decision," Rutte said.

Dan Yakobson, a member of the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGO Forum who attended the meeting with Rutte, said the Dutch premier had sounded surprised and even mortified by the way the issue of the scanner had been handled.

He said that under the circumstances, Rutte had wondered at the security concern: “After all, the X-ray machine was donated by the Netherlands and placed at the Kerem Shalom crossing precisely because of Israeli security concerns,” Yakobson quoted Rutte as saying. "I have no idea what is behind this decision, and I will ask Netanyahu about it during our meeting this evening.”

remainder: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.562360

[Jefferson23]

1. Yakobson:

Yakobson said the Dutch prime minister asked the peace activists if they thought Netanyahu had changed his mind on the Palestinian issue and if he genuinely wanted to make peace. They didn't know, the participants told him, according to Yakobson. However, they said, the fact that Israel accepted the European Union stipulation that no Horizon 2020 research funding would go to Israeli research enterprises connected with territories beyond the 1967 borders shows that the government favors ties with Europe over the settlements.

“We told him that the conduct regarding the scientific cooperation agreement showed that with internal Israeli assertiveness and enough international assertiveness, things can move,” Yakobson said. “We recommended stepping up international involvement on the Israeli-Palestinian matter and even considering the model the world powers used in the deal with Iran in Geneva and applying it to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.”

[azurnoir]

2. maybe the scanner was not in keeping with why the export ban is really in place punishment? more:

When security isn't enough: Separating Gaza and the West Bank

You may have read in Haaretz that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the Dutch prime minister this week to explain a few things about Israel’s national security. Maybe you didn’t quite understand why this is a story. That’s not surprising. The story is Gaza, and it’s a story that doesn’t make it to the news too much. So, if you’re interested, and you should be, here’s a little context:

Try to imagine an economy without exports. It’s not self-contained, because it does not really supply all its own needs. It is simply an economic entity that sells almost no goods outside its territory – a large-scale economic experiment. That’s what the Gaza Strip is today.

Why is this the case?

The only crossing used for transporting goods outside of Gaza is Kerem Shalom, which is controlled by Israel. Israel allows goods to exit Gaza, but only if they are not sold in the West Bank or inside Israel itself. Goods that exit Gaza are transported on Israeli soil, and shipped to Europe via the Ashdod seaport. Goods exit Gaza, get shipped through Israel and the West Bank to Jordan. Goods are transported to Ben-Gurion International Airport in Israel and flown to the USA. These same goods cannot be sold here, or in the West Bank. Why? It’s unclear. The only reason Israel has given is the “separation policy,” i.e., separating and distinguishing the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from one another. What are the reasons for this policy? Well, it depends who you ask. Who conceived and implemented this policy? Unclear. When? Unknown. Why? Because.

Why is this important?

Because before the closure, 85 percent of the goods shipped out of Gaza, were sold in Israel and the West Bank. These are the main markets for Gaza’s products. European markets are too far, and the cost of shipping is very high. In fact, it is so high that the Dutch are funding about half the agricultural products chosen to be part of the European export project. It’s more of a humanitarian project than an export project, and it looks like it too. Before the closure, 1,064 trucks left Gaza every month. In October, only 10 trucks left. Ten trucks in an entire month.

http://972mag.com/when-security-isnt-enough-separating-gaza-and-the-west-bank/83462/

[oberliner]

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