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Monday, May 23, 2016
Cement deliveries resume to Gaza's private sector following Israeli ban

Cement deliveries resume to Gaza's private sector following Israeli ban
May 23, 2016 2:18 P.M. (Updated: May 23, 2016 7:08 P.M.)
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=771606

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – Dozens of truckloads of cement entered the Gaza Strip on
Monday for delivery to the private sector, following a near-45-day ban
imposed by Israel on the entry of cement.

The ban was imposed on April 3 after Israeli authorities accused Hamas --
the de-facto ruler of the besieged coastal enclave -- of diverting
construction materials from its intended legitimate beneficiaries, following
the discovery of a tunnel passing from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Muhammad al-Maqadma, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Affairs
Committee, told Ma’an that approximately 80 truckloads of cement were
expected to enter the Gaza Strip on Monday via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

A spokesperson for Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the
Territories (COGAT) confirmed to Ma’an that truckloads of cement entered the
Gaza Strip on Monday. She highlighted that the cement ban had been applied
only to the private sector while cement deliveries for internationally
funded projects have been ongoing.

In a statement released on Monday, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle
East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov welcomed the resumption of cement
deliveries to the private sector of the small Palestinian territory, which
is still recovering from the devastating 2014 Israeli aerial assault from
which some 75,000 Palestinians remain homeless.

“The humanitarian challenges in Gaza remain vast and all efforts should be
made to resolve the housing, electricity, and water crises. It is critical
for the security of both Palestinians and Israelis that Gaza remains calm
and hope is restored to its people,” Mladenov said.

The UN “continues to call for the full lifting of all closures on Gaza,”
Mladenov stressed, adding that a “permanent end to the suffering of the
Palestinian people can only be achieved through reuniting Gaza and the West
Bank under a single, legitimate and democratic Palestinian national
authority and the realization of the two-state solution.”

He added that “All sides need to ensure that cement deliveries reach their
intended beneficiaries and are used solely for civilian purposes.”

Israeli authorities have previously accused Hamas of stealing reconstruction
material to sell on the black market and use to build tunnels.

However, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
said following the discovery of the tunnel in April that “most of the
previously entered shelter repair and reconstruction material has already
been sold to beneficiaries.”

Israel’s cement ban was widely criticized for exacerbating an already
crippling near-decade blockade on the Palestinian enclave, as it prevented
hundreds of Gazans who were made homeless during the 50-day 2014 war from
rebuilding their homes, and suspending the jobs of some 40,000 workers
employed in the construction sector

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