Office of the Special Envoy for Disengagement - April 7, 2006 - Back to Resources Page

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7 April 2006

Tenth Report on the Implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access The Quartet Special Envoy's Office is submitting the tenth bi-weekly report on the implementation of the 15 November Agreement on Movement and Access, covering the period 18 to 31 March 2006 inclusive.

• Rafah was open daily during the reporting period. Standard operating hours were increased by two hours as of 26 March. Rafah is now open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The average daily number of persons traveling into and out of Gaza through the Rafah crossing during this reporting period was slightly higher than in the previous two periods. No security incidents were reported.

• Karni reopened on 20 March for half an hour for imports of basic commodities after having been closed since 14 March when the IDF cited a security warning against the crossing. It continued to operate at limited capacity through 24 March for imports only. On 26 March, Karni was opened in both directions, albeit only partially such that during the reporting period the average number of export truckloads was 9.9 per day. The crossing was closed for one day on 28 March due to Israeli elections. Karni was subsequently closed on 4 April, when IDF again cited a security warning.

• The GoI opened Kerem Shalom for the import of food commodities from Egypt on 23 March to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis building as a result of the closing of Karni – on 17 March, the flour mills in Gaza had run out of wheat and on 18 March, UNRWA had run out of petrol. Kerem Shalom was open for 7 days during the reporting period, during which a total of 54.5 truckloads of essential food commodities were imported from Egypt into Gaza using the back-to-back system. No goods were exported.

• Erez was closed to Palestinians on 12 March because of Purim and remained closed. As such, no workers or traders crossed into Israel via Erez during the reporting period.

• The deadline for the introduction of truck convoys between Gaza and the West Bank passed on 15 January. Discussions of bus convoys have not yet resumed.

• According to OCHA the number of obstacles to movement in the West Bank rose from 496 to 505. OCHA compiles several times a year a comprehensive count of physical
obstacles to Palestinian movement in the West Bank. The figures reported here are based on OCHA field observations only.

• The GoI has not provided the assurance to donors that it will not interfere with the operation of the seaport.

• There have been no discussions on the airport during the reporting period.

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Office of the Special Envoy for Disengagement - April 7, 2006 - Back to Resources Page