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n the sur-
face, Israel
allowing the
import of Gaza
Strip agricultural
produce for the first
time since Hamas
violently took con-
trol of the coastal
enclave in 2007 might seem a
political breakthrough. Tomatoes
and eggplants trucked from Deir
el-Balah into Israel could well bring
what isolation and war could not:
peace, however fragile, along the
Israel-Gaza border.
The end of the Israel-Hamas war
last summer saw Jerusalem relax
travel restrictions into Israel and
the West Bank for Gaza merchants
seeking new business opportunities
via exports. The newly announced
produce exports are a byproduct of
that policy change.
But on closer analysis, there's no
reason to get overly excited by the
Israeli governmental act to partial-
ly ease a lengthy economic block-
ade, really a practical response to
a Jewish tradition that requires
Israeli farmers to leave their lands
fallow — unsown to regenerate fer-
tility or to control surplus — every
seventh year.
Relaxing the blockade is intend-
ed:
• To boost Gaza's ravaged econ-
omy by giving working farmers a
revenue stream and an investment
incentive;
• And help devout Jews observe
the biblical farming sabbatical tied
to the current lunar calendar year.
It's not a reflection of Hamas
giving up its terrorist mantle.
Hamas remains a U.S.-, Israel- and
European Union-declared terrorist
organization dedicated by charter
to Israel's destruction.

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54 April 2 • 2015

JN

Still, there's hope in the March 12
announcement that Israel cleared
27 tons of tomatoes and five tons
of eggplants grown by Gaza farm-
ers for passage into the Jewish
state.
Eased restrictions already
enabled Gaza farmers to
import tractors via Israel. Some
Palestinians stopped cultivating
their farmland or sold their land
to developers after Israeli markets
dried up in 2007, Reuters reported.
News reports indicate upwards

of 1,500 tons of Gaza
produce may find its
way through the now-
fortified Gaza border
into Israel monthly —
with each ton valued at
$770.
Wouldn't that be nice
— at least to start.
Interestingly, only about half of
the Gaza farmers who sent pro-
duce samples to Israel met Israeli
standards, AP reported. So clearly,
there's room for the quality of the
Gaza farming yield to grow.
Before Hamas wrested the con-
trol of the seaside Palestinian ter-
ritory in a bloody coup against the
Palestinian Authority, Gaza mer-
chants exported hundreds of tons
of vegetables to Israel daily. Until
the recent change in policy, the
only produce crossing from Gaza
to Israel consisted of palm tree
shoots, holiday lulays, to be used
on Sukkot.

Cautious Optimism

Following Hamas' military coup,
Israel instituted a blockade of
Gaza to limit the infiltration of
weapons that could be turned into
tools of terror. Before June 2007,
more than 85 percent of all goods
shipped from Gaza were sold in
Israel and the West Bank, including
produce, furniture and textile prod-
ucts, according to the human rights
group Gisha.
In a news release, Gisha
Executive Director Eitan Diamond
said: "Top Israeli security officials
have said that Gaza's reconstruc-
tion and economic recovery are an
Israeli interest and may help bring
calm and stability to the region.
"We hope that the resumption of
sales to Israel becomes permanent
and is expanded to additional sec-
tors in Gaza, giving its residents
a horizon for economic develop-
ment."
As long as Hamas rules Gaza,
don't bet on any hint of "recon-
struction or economic recovery"
bringing "calm and stability" to
the war-torn region. Hamas has
shown interest in limited export
relations with Israel out of neces-
sity for its desperate farmers,
not from a sudden shift of heart
toward the "Zionist entity" — still
in Hamas' Islamist-crazed eyes an
ardent enemy to be destroyed, not
embraced.

❑

