Kerem Shalom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kerem Shalom is a kibbutz and border crossing near the Gaza-Israel-Egyptian border.

[edit] Border Crossing

The Kerem Shalom border crossing is used to bring cargo from Egypt into Gaza. It has been used for the delivery of humanitarian supplies from Egypt[1]. Pallets arriving on trucks from Egypt are offloaded in Kerem Shalom, and Palestinian trucks carry the pallets into Gaza. The turnaround time for the transfer is about 45 minutes, which allows between 15 and 50 truckloads daily.

European monitors from the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) - Rafah use the Kerem Shalom crossing to get to the Rafah crossing[2]. Therefore, when Kerem Shalom is closed due to security concerns, the Rafah crossing must also close.

At Kerem Shalom, the EUBAM led a Liaison Office, which receive real-time video and data feed of the activities at Rafah. The Liaison Office meet regularly to review implementation of the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing, resolve any dispute arising the agreement, and perform other tasks specified in the agreement. The Liaison Office is manned by liaison officers from EUBAM, the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel.

[edit] Attack and Captured Soldier

On 25 June, 2006 Corporal Gilad Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants near Kerem Shalom after the militants crossed the border from Gaza into Israel via a tunnel. Two Israeli Defense Force soldiers were killed and three others wounded, in addition to Shalit. In response and with the mission of rescuing Shalit, IDF entered Gaza Strip as part of Operation Summer Rains on 28 June. [3]