Due to restrictions at Rafah: Erez Crossing Becomes Main Gateway to the Gaza Strip
• The meaning: Thousands of people needing to travel from Gaza are stuck in the Strip.
• Gisha: Israel’s restrictive policy must be reconsidered.

A look at the numbers reveals that close to 16,000 people who would have traveled out of Gaza every month on average now remain in the Strip without being able to leave. Students, professionals who work outside the Gaza Strip and many others have been stripped of their basic right to travel.
Israel does not allow travel to and from the Gaza Strip by sea or air and limits passage through Erez Crossing to “exceptional humanitarian cases”. The result has been dependency on Rafah Crossing. Gisha argues that Israel’s control over Gaza creates obligations under the law of occupation, which applies to Israel but not to Egypt.
“Israel’s restrictive travel policy must be reconsidered”, said Adv. Sari Bashi, executive director of Gisha. “Because Israel exercises control over the Gaza Strip, it has a responsibility to allow regular travel. When travel through Rafah Crossing is insufficient, Israel must allow a more significant increase in travel through its crossings”.
For details: Sari Bashi, Gisha Director, or Amir Rotem, Gisha spokesperson, amir@gisha.org
For a statement on Gisha’s position regarding Israel’s and Egypt’s obligations on Gaza travel, click here.