Off the wire
• Election observer mission launched in Lesotho  • Almaty capable of hosting Winter Games, says IOC chief inspector (updated)  • Ghana FA secures sponsorship for second-tier league  • UN Security Council extends peace-building mandate in Guinea-Bissau  • U.S. stocks drift lower ahead of Fed minutes  • 50 illegal immigrants arrested in SW Nigeria  • Roundup: Domestic opposition welcomes Aleppo freeze battle plan  • EU offers to help Lebanon maintain security and stability  • Nigeria's police chief orders probe into opposition rally shooting  • Burundi's private radio director gets bail over 3 Italian nuns' assassination case  
You are here: 　 Home

Israel moves to ease restrictions on blockaded Gaza: officials

Xinhua, February 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israel on Wednesday released a list of steps to ease the security blockade that has been imposed on Gaza Strip's residents over the past eight years.

Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the body implementing Israel's policy in the West Bank and Gaza strip, said the number of daily permits for Gaza merchants to enter the West Bank and Israel for business will be doubled from 400 to 800.

Israel will also allow 50 students to leave Gaza for studies in the West Bank, according to COGAT. Israel has banned such travels for the last 15 years, citing security concerns.

The move occurred in the aftermath of a devastating 50-day-long war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas, which left the strip in ruins and claimed the lives of more than 2,200 Palestinians.

Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade over the Gaza Strip since the Islamist Hamas movement took over Gaza in 2007. Since then, Israel has employed a restricted permits policy, allowing people to leave the strip only in rare humanitarian cases.

Israel said the blockade is necessary for preventing Hamas from getting weapons, but the policy has taken a heavy toll on the civilian population and virtually disconnected Gaza from the West Bank. Endit