Israel Matzav

Israel allows Hamas to export 35 million flowers

For the first time since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, the Israeli government is allowing Hamas to export 35 million flowers to Europe, which will raise millions of dollars for the terror organization.

This marks the first time since the 2006-07 season that Gaza’s flower growers, on a request local agricultural officials say was brought by the Netherlands to Israel’s Defense Ministry, will export their entire harvest of some 35 million roses, carnations, and chrysanthemums to markets in European countries.

It is also one of the only exceptions Israel has made for exports from the impoverished Palestinian territory. Israel imposed a tight economic blockade when the Islamist movement Hamas seized control in 2007.

Gaza was one of Europe’s main flower suppliers before Israel halted commercial and agricultural exports from the territory. Gaza’s last shipment of flowers was a truckload of 25,000 stems symbolically allowed out for Valentine’s Day earlier this year.

Yusuf Shaath, the cash crops project manager for the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC), a local development organization that works closely with farmers, says the sector expects to earn $6.3 million with this year’s harvest, after a near-total collapse over the past two years.

“The farmers are very excited – they had lost totally their markets with the blockade,” says Mr. Shaath. “We won’t ask why the Israelis decided to lift the blockade for us, we’ll just do our work.”

Just highlighting a little media bias for you. I wonder how many Kassams you can buy for $6.3 million.

But wait - it gets worse. Look where the flower farms are:

There are more than 100 flower farms in Gaza, mainly in Rafah in the south and Beit Lahiya in the far north, that employ some 7,000 workers, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).

Rafah is the location of most of the smuggling tunnels to Egypt, while Beit Lahiya is one of the places in northern Gaza from which rockets are shot into Israel.

Funny that I haven't seen this in any Israeli media (I could have missed it - haven't looked at what came out over the Sabbath yet).

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:51 PM