Israel’s army said it responded with tank fire after its forces were targeted by gunfire along the border between the Palestinian enclave and Israel.
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In addition, Palestine has to pay “unjustifiably high” handling fees to Israel, UNCTAD said, for collecting these taxes on its behalf, resulting in $50m worth of overpayments to Israel in 2014, according to the World Bank.
There was no mention of possible casualties, though the shelling caused material and financial damages to the region. “This expansion undermines the prospects for a two-State solution”, the report says. The Israeli military uses drones over the impoverished region either to monitor and photograph Palestinian military units in the blockaded coastal enclave, or launch aerial attacks against targets.
“Trade is the very cornerstone upon which economic development can be built, and boosting sustained growth requires better trade”, pointed out UNCTAD secretary-general Mukhisa Kituyi.
In 2015, 25 per cent of the people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory were unemployed and 66 per cent were food-insecure. Officially, one quarter of the population in the Palestinian territories is unemployed, while the rate in Gaza is 38 per cent, but these figures are likely to significantly underestimate the problem, UNCTAD said. Other obstacles include bans on items like fertilizers, steel, telecommunications equipment and spare parts to Gaza.
The blockade had devastated Gaza’s once vibrant furniture industry; it also restricts the movement of people, including those in need of essential medical treatment. The report noted that child morality levels are rising in Gaza for the first time in 50 years.
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Under the deal, Israel will pay Turkey $20 million (17.7 million euros) in compensation for a botched Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship in 2010 that left 10 Turks dead. He called the closure “collective punishment” for which there must be accountability.
