Karni crossing

The Karni Crossing (Arabic: معبر كارني or معبر المنطار‎, Hebrew: מעבר קרני‎) is a cargo terminal on the Israel-Gaza Strip barrier. It is located in the north-eastern end of the Gaza Strip and was opened in 1994 after the signing of the Oslo Accords, in order to allow Palestinian merchants to export and import goods. The Karni Crossing was also used by the residents of Netzarim since the Karni road was the only route to that isolated Israeli settlement on which Jewish travel was allowed after the 1994 implementation of the Oslo Accords. Unlike the Erez Crossing, which is managed by the Israel Defense Forces, Karni is managed by the Israel Airports Authority. According to the management, the crossing is named after Joseph Karni, an Israeli who had set up a modern packing warehouse in the Gaza Strip near the present-day cargo terminal shortly after Israel captured the strip in 1967. The Palestinians call it “Al-Montar”, after the nearby Ali Montar hill.^[1]

The Karni terminal has been attacked several times by Palestinian militants since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada, in either mortar attacks or frontal infantry assaults, forcing temporary shut-downs for repairs and enhancement of security procedures. Both Palestinians and Israelis have been killed in these attacks. As a passage point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Karni crossing has been used for hostile activities by armed forces from both sides. Palestinian militants have used the Karni terminal to smuggle suicide bombers and explosive belts into Israel, the most notable successful suicide attack being in the Port of Ashdod bombing. Israel also uses the crossing to transport tanks, soldiers and artillery into Gaza.

The Karni Crossing was used for 'back-to-back' transfer in which merchandise and produce for the Israeli market or for export overseas is removed from a Palestinian truck and placed in an Israeli truck, or vice versa for incoming goods.

In 2006, the Israeli authorities closed the crossing for over 100 days, after the discovery of vast tunnelling from across the border to underneath the facility, meant to be filled with explosives and detonated. From September 2006 to June 2007, the crossing has been open daily save some brief closures due to Palestinian labour strikes.

When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, much of the equipment on the Palestinian side was destroyed, and the terminal was closed by the Israeli authorities. The previous operators, who were affiliated with Fatah, have fled to the West Bank. Hamas has offered to bring Fatah back to Karni or hire a Turkish company to operate the Palestinian side, but Israel persistently refused to deal with Hamas, the de-facto authority in the Gaza Strip. In June 2007, the UNWRA coordinator commended the IDF on moving humanitarian shipments to the secondary Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossings, and hoped that Karni could be reopened soon as part of a longer-term solution.^[2] The crossing was later partially reopened.^[3]

According to Wikileaks cables published on January 6, 2011 by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten,^[4] companies told U.S. diplomats that they were forced to pay bribes to Israelis to get goods into the Gaza Strip.^[5] The document, a joint cable by the U.S. Ambassador to Israel in Tel Aviv and the American Consul-General in Jerusalem of June 2006 says: “Corruption extends to Karni management and involves logistics companies working as middlemen for military and civilian officials at the terminal”.^[6]

See also

• Karni border crossing attack

References

1. ^ *"Karni Terminal. General Information". Israel Airports Authority. http://www.iaa.gov.il/Rashat/en-US/Borders/Karni/AbouttheTerminal/GeneralInformation/. 
2. ^ Steven Erlanger, Taghreed El-Khodary, and Isabel Kershner (2007-07-19). "Gaza's Economy, Already Fragile, May Collapse Unless Crossings Are Reopened, U.N. Reports". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/world/middleeast/19mideast.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=Karni+crossing&st=nyt. 
3. ^ Yaakov Katz and Tovah Lazaroff (2010-07-02). "Gov't: PA may control Gaza crossings". The Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/home/article.aspx?id=180199. 
4. ^ "14. 6. 2006: ALLEGED ISRAELI CORRUPTION AT KARNI IMPEDES U.S.". Aftenposten. 2011-01-06. http://www.aftenposten.no/spesial/wikileaksdokumenter/article3974066.ece. 
5. ^ Reuters (2011-01-06). "Israelis Bribed to Admit U.S. Goods to Gaza: WikiLeaks". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/01/06/world/international-us-palestinians-israel-wikileaks.html?scp=1&sq=Karni+Crossing%2C+Gaza&st=nyt. 
6. ^ The Associated Press (2011-01-06). "WikiLeaks: Israel demanded bribes for goods entering Gaza". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/wikileaks-israel-demanded-bribes-for-goods-entering-gaza-1.335585. 

External links

• "Karni Terminal info". Israel Airports Authority. http://www.iaa.gov.il/Rashat/en-US/Borders/Karni. 
• "Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Country Specific Information". Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1064.html. 
• Steve Erlanger (2007-09-19). "Isolation of Gaza Chokes Off Trade". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/world/middleeast/19gaza.html?scp=1&sq=Isolation%20of%20Gaza%20Chokes%20Off%20Trade&st=cse. 
• Matthew Krieger (2007-08-08). "FICC calls on Olmert, Barak to reopen Karni crossing to Gaza". The Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/Business/BusinessNews/Article.aspx?id=71300. 
• Greg Myre (2006-03-04). "Gaza Crossings: Choked Passages to Frustration". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E1D91431F937A35750C0A9609C8B63&scp=2&sq=Choked%20Passages%20to%20Frustration&st=cse.