COGAT provides figures on the sale of Gaza produce in Israel, the West Bank and abroad, in response to Freedom of Information application by Gisha
August 2, 2017
Israel may consider the Gaza Strip a “foreign territory,” but in practice, it has exclusive control over the marketing of agricultural produce from Gaza abroad, in Israel, and in the West Bank, the other part of the Palestinian territory. In 2014, following Operation Protective Edge, Israel allowed the sale of Gaza produce in the West Bank for the first time since 2007, and increased the quantities permitted for export abroad. In 2015, during the Jewish “shmita” year,” when, according to custom, the land must lay fallow, Israel also allowed the sale of tomatoes and eggplants from Gaza within its territory.
In light of the control exercised by Israel over the movement of all goods exiting and entering Gaza, which includes monitoring and approving each vegetable or piece of fruit exiting the Strip, Gisha filed a Freedom of Information application (Hebrew) with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The application was filed on April 4, 2017, requesting information and statistics regarding marketing of agricultural produce from Gaza in Israel, the West Bank and abroad.
COGAT responded (Hebrew) on August 2, 2017, 120 days after the application was filed. The response indicates that despite the fact that Israel controls all shipments of produce out of Gaza, none of the relevant Israeli authorities (COGAT, the Ministry of Agriculture) hold written procedures regulating the management of this matter. Apparently the various conditions imposed by Israel on Gaza farmers as a prerequisite for selling their produce outside the Strip are passed to them verbally, rather than in writing. COGAT also noted that although the issuing of permits for marketing produce outside Gaza is not within its purview, farmers wishing to obtain them must meet Israel’s regulatory conditions. These conditions were not specified in the response.
COGAT further noted that the Ministry of Agriculture has sole discretion to decide what type of Gaza-grown fruits and vegetables are permitted for sale in the West Bank, abroad and in Israel, and that the shipping of any produce out of Gaza requires approval from the relevant officials at the Ministry of Agriculture. To this day, only limited quantities of Gaza-grown tomatoes and eggplants may be sold in Israel, while the list of fruits and vegetables permitted for sale in the West Bank is slightly wider, and does not include restrictions on quantities. The reasons for this disparity are unclear.
COGAT also provided figures on sales of Gaza produce in Israel between January 2016 and July 2017 (inclusive). During this time, 4,098.11 tons of tomatoes and 390.66 tons of eggplant were sold in Israel. On a monthly average, these quantities come to about half the quota fixed by Israel: 400 tons of tomatoes and 50 of eggplant per month.
On the issue of marketing agricultural produce in the West Bank, COGAT replied that between January 2016 and July 2017, a total of 22,604.09 tons of fruits and vegetables were shipped to the West Bank, aboard 2,057 trucks, which averages at 1329.65 tons per month, and 305.46 tons per week. On average, only 27 trucks carrying produce exited Gaza for the West Bank each week. These are minuscule quantities in comparison to sales in the West Bank prior to 2007.
In regards to produce sales abroad, COGAT stated that between January 2016 and July 2017, a total of 3,378.85 tons of fruits and vegetables were shipped abroad, exiting Gaza aboard 195 trucks, averaging at 198.74 tons per month and 45.46 tons per week. On average, only 2.63 truckloads of produce left Gaza for sale abroad each week throughout that period of time.
Gisha maintains that the restrictions on the marketing of Gaza-grown agricultural produce in the West Bank, in Israel, and abroad cannot be defended as stemming from Israel’s security considerations, and must be removed. There is no justification for limiting the types of fruit and vegetables Gaza residents can market within the Palestinian territory, or abroad. Farming is an important economic sector in Gaza, with the potential to significantly contribute to economic growth, meaning that it is also well within Israel’s interests to accommodate its development, rather than limit its reach.
