Israel Matzav

UNRWA brings media to watch attempted smuggling of goods into Gaza

The IDF's Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration slammed UNRWA for attempting to pass goods through the Kerem Shalom crossing point that had not been arranged with and approved by the IDF. The goods - allegedly paper and plastic bags - had not yet received IDF approval. But UNRWA brought truckloads to the crossing point anyway and then brought the media with them to film Israel turning the trucks away.

On Monday, the Kerem Shalom crossing was opened for the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, including some 50 trucks with supplies provided by UNRWA. The night before, UNRWA had asked the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration to permit the transfer of paper and plastic bags to Gaza, and had been told the request was under consideration.

Despite not having received approval, UNRWA, COGAT officials said, drove several trucks carrying the supplies from Jerusalem to the crossing and coordinated their arrival with several media outlets, which filmed the trucks being turned away.

COGAT Spokesman Maj. Peter Lerner called the incident a "regretful provocation" by the UNRWA spokesman's office and added that while Israel may eventually approve the transfer of office supplies to Gaza, it was currently focusing on humanitarian aid.

"UNRWA receives preferential treatment at the crossings, and today alone 50 of its trucks were allowed in," Lerner said.

"What was done was wrong and not in accordance with the working relationship that Israel has with UNRWA."

And UNRWA's response?

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the organization's schools in Gaza, which opened last week, only had 60 percent of the needed textbooks and that the paper was needed to fill the gap.

"We are running schools for 200,000 kids in Gaza and we have said for weeks that we would need to get it in, and it is entirely predictable since our school term starts at a certain time and therefore it is really strange that anybody should be surprised that we raised this issue," Gunness said.

Hey Moron - you're in a war zone and there's a limited number of trucks that can be checked every day. Like it or not, it's not going to be your decision to decide which trucks to check and let in. And don't try to act so innocent - if this were really about getting books and paper to Gaza kids, you wouldn't have brought the media along to film the event. You knew damned well that you weren't going to get that stuff in on Monday.

What Israel should do - but won't - is to close Kerem Shalom altogether for a week.

By the way, for those who have forgotten and who have nothing else to do with their time every day, you can watch the daily proceedings at Kerem Shalom by webcam.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:47 AM