Liberman: Gaza crossing to reopen Tuesday if calm holds
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman visits the Kerem Shalom Crossing on July 22, 2018
Judah Ari Gross writes in The Times of Israel:
Israel will fully reopen the main crossing for goods into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday if the current calm in the territory holds over the next two days, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced on Sunday during a visit there.
“Yesterday was one of the calmest days, perhaps, since March 30,” Liberman said. “If that situation continues today and tomorrow as it was yesterday, then on Tuesday we will revive the regular procedures and also expand the fishing zone to what it was before.”
The defense minister made his comments at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, the only Israeli crossing for commercial goods into and out of the Gaza Strip, which has been closed to everything but shipments of food, medicine and occasionally fuel since July 9.
Lieberman stressed that calm also meant an end to months of kites and balloons carrying firebombs over the border fence from the Palestinian enclave to burn Israeli farming land.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, the plan to offer these economic incentives was proposed by the Israel Defense Forces’ top brass, who had also recommended the closure of Kerem Shalom in the first place.“Residents of the Gaza Strip need to understand that so long as there are incendiary balloons and fires on our side, their side will also not go back to normal and to routine,” Liberman said.