page_title: Blockade of the Gaza Strip
section_title: Restrictions on movement of people
hierarchical_section_title: Blockade of the Gaza Strip / Restrictions on movement of people
context_page_description: The blockade of the Gaza Strip is the ongoing land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel and Egypt in 2007, after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip during the Battle of Gaza, seizing government institutions and replacing Fatah and other Palestinian Authority officials with Hamas members. Hamas had previously refused to accept the conditions set by Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East for continued aid to the PA under a Hamas government including recognition by Hamas of Israel, the disavowal of violent actions, and acceptance of previous agreements between Israel and the PA, including the Oslo Accords. After Hamas formed the PA government in March 2006, led by Ismail Haniya, Israel and the Quartet stopped having any dialogue with the PA and especially any member of the Hamas government, ceased providing aid to the PA and imposed sanctions against the PA.
  Following the Hamas takeover, Egypt and Israel largely closed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah had fled the Strip and was no longer able to provide security on the Palestinian side. Egypt was worried that Hamas control over Gaza would increase Iranian influence.
context_section_description: The Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out in September 2000 and Israel imposed trade restrictions on the Gaza Strip and closed the Gaza International Airport. The economic impact worsened after the creation of a ‘buffer zone’ in September 2001, that sealed the entry and exit points in the Palestinian territories. After 9 October 2001, the movement of people and goods across the ‘Green Line’, the border between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and Israel, was halted, and a complete internal closure came into effect on 14 November 2001. The worsening economic and humanitarian situation raised great concern abroad. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in January 2003, the Israeli blockade and closures had drained as much as US$2.4 billion out of the economy of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
  Israel forces left the Gaza Strip on 1 September 2005 as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan. An "Agreement on Movement and Access" (AMA) between Israel and the PA was concluded in November 2005 to improve the movement of people and economic activity in the Gaza Strip. Under its terms, the Rafah crossing with Egypt was to be reopened, with transits monitored by the PA and the European Union. Only people with Palestinian identity cards or foreign nationals, subject to Israeli oversight, were permitted to cross.
  Following the 2006 Palestinian legislative election in January, that brought Hamas to power in the PA, Israel and the Quartet of the Middle East imposed economic sanctions against the PA after Hamas refused to agree to the Quartet's conditions to maintain economic assistance: recognition of Israel, disavowal of violent actions, and acceptance of previous agreements between Israel and the PA. Though initially opposed by the United States, a Quartet member, the US government agreed in April 2006 to discontinue $400 million of foreign aid to the PA. Instead the US would redirect $100 million to the United Nations and other non-Palestinian groups, but no aid money would be given directly to the government of Mahmoud Abbas.
  Throughout 2006, the Karni crossing remained only partially operational, costing Palestinians $500,000 a day, as less than 10% of the Gaza Strip's minimal daily export targets were achieved. Basic food commodities were severely depleted, bakeries closed and food rationing was introduced.
caption: Palestinian workers wait at the Erez Crossing to enter the Gaza Strip, July 2005.
exif: {}