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Inside the Middle East
September 20, 2010
Posted: 1040 GMT

Cars intended for transfer into Gaza wait to enter the Gaza Strip from southern Israel at the Erez crossing (Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)

For the first time in over three years, the Israeli government has allowed the transfer of cars into the  Gaza Strip. 

The move, said Guy Inbar, a spokesman for Israel's office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories,  was another step in "the expansion of the civilian policy towards Gaza strip". 

About 20 cars loaded on trucks were to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing Monday and  be handed over to Palestinian car dealers. Another 60 cars are to be transferred over the next few days according to Inbar. 

Israel decided to ease restrictions on the Gaza Strip in wake of  international condemnation following an Israeli commando raid against activists on-board an aid ship bound for Gaza.  The raid left nine Turkish and Turkish-American activist dead. 

Gaza has been subject to an Israeli and Egyptian economic blockade since the Islamist movement Hamas seized power from the Palestinian Authority in 2007 though Israel has been allowing more goods to be imported recently except those it claims can be used for weapons manufacturing and building military fortifications.

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Filed under: Gaza •General •Hamas •Israel


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Abrahem   September 20th, 2010 6:37 pm ET

Dear Americans,

If we Israelis allow 40 new cars to pass our illegal blockade of Gaza, will you bomb Iran for us?

I mean Israel is making sacrifices. Deep in our hearts we want all Palestinians to feel so desperately depressed with our treatment, that they will all voluntarily leave the region. We must admit they are more resistant than we thought they would be, when we started to evict them from their homes in 1947.

We've bulldozed their homes, destroyed their crops, imprisoned their children, cut of their electric and water! But still they want to stay in a land they have lived for 1000s of years. But if we make the heart breaking sacrifice of allowing 40 of their people to have cars, shouldn't America also make a sacrifices and use its wealth and young men to go to war with Iran.

You do know that if you refuse this request, your are being anti semitic!!!!!

Thanks America and while your at it, please send Israel some more aid. We only receive 3 billion per year. There are 5,5 million Jews in Israel. That's just a measly 181 dollars per Israeli per year. Can you blame us for robbing Palestinian land, when that all we receive from the USA?

John A   September 23rd, 2010 7:49 am ET

Abrahem 3 billion American dollars / 5.5 million Israeli Jews = 545 dollars each and every year.

In other words an average Israeli Jewish family of four receives $2.180 as a gift from America every year.

Abrahem, you have under calculated the amount you receive free of charge from hard working Americans. So do something good for a change and ask your Israeli leaders to return some of the land they have stolen and allow peace in the middle east?

Smith in Oregon   September 23rd, 2010 8:02 am ET

U.N. experts determine that Israel's peace flotilla raid broke multiple International Laws.

A report by three U.N.-appointed human rights experts Wednesday said that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla killing nine activists earlier this year.

The U.N. Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission concluded that Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and described the military raid on the flotilla as brutal and disproportionate.

The 56-page document lists a long series of alleged crimes committed by Israeli forces, including willful killing and torture, and claims there is "clear evidence to support prosecutions." It also alleges that Israel violated the right to life, liberty, freedom of expression and the right of captured crew and passengers to be treated with humanity. Multiple Kidnapping, Piracy, Murder, Torture and Violations of Human rights are all very serious International crimes which Interpol should charge a large number of Israeli Officials with and let the World's Court determine their prison sentences.

"A series of violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, were committed by the Israeli forces during the interception of the flotilla and during the detention of passengers in Israel prior to deportation," the experts found. A very large number of the passengers have made statements they were detained, chained to a chair for lengthy questioning periods where they were savagely beaten and repeatedly electroshocked with cattle prods in a classic case of TORTURE and the number TORTURED could easily exceed 100 COUNTS alone. 9 Execution murders, Piracy, Illegal seizure of a NATO flagged civilian ship in International Waters is an act of war against a NATO nation.

Come on Interpol, time for multiple CHARGES.

miriam   September 23rd, 2010 10:15 pm ET

Abrahem,

You still seem to be suffering from an identity crisis.

You have repeatedly masqueraded as a self-hating Israeli on this blog.

Your lies and deceptions are just cheap propaganda.

John A   September 24th, 2010 7:38 am ET

CNN please note Miriams last entry on this blog 23/9/10 made not a single reference to the article or any issue in the middle east. She simply attacked another blogger.

This is typical and the CNN moderator should be sacked for always allowing pro Israeli supporters to make nothing but personal attacks.

As for Abrehams comment, I have already replied. Its seems he's not so good at math's.

Israel lets 40 cars in the country, wow how generous. Maybe we should block Israels oil supplies. After decades with no oil, we could give them 40 barrels and expect to be praised for it.

Hope   September 26th, 2010 3:47 pm ET

Hybrid's?

Andy   November 8th, 2010 5:39 am ET

Well John, you're dead wrong. I don't even pay attention to the lies spinned by the media anymore because it is nothing else but Jew hatred. Oh, by the way, I'm a German born citizen and I stand by Israel. Maybe not it's government but the people of God. I you take an issue with that, sorry. Jesus came to the Jews first. We Gentiles profited through the fact that the Jews rejected him but that didn't give us the right as Christians to concuct the lie that the church replaced Israel. Anyone who reads the Bible without bias can see that this is not so.


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