Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has instructed the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the military body that oversees the day-to-day management of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to tighten enforcement of the Gaza blockade.
COGAT commander, Major General Yoav Mordechai, stated Thursday that “any attempt to smuggle dual-use materials into Gaza without coordinating the shipments with [Israeli] security officials, raises strong concerns that the materials are willingly being provided to terror operatives.”
The Israeli authorities maintain a list of so-called dual-use items, whose entry into the blockaded Gaza Strip is restricted. According to NGO Gisha, this Israeli list “includes items whose use is overwhelmingly civilian and critical for civilian life.”
Lieberman urges Israeli army to tighten enforcement of the #Gaza blockade. | #Palestine #EndGazaSiege https://t.co/7UTAH5VH39
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) October 14, 2016
Lieberman “also said that companies that help smuggle [restricted dual-use] materials into the Strip will be fined.” Israel announced that “used car parts will also be banned from the Strip”, based on allegations that such items “could be used to build a 4X4 jeep to be used by terror groups.”
(MEMO, PC)
