Border Crossings and Security | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israel closes Gaza commercial crossing, leaving just one
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 3, 2011 - 1:00am

After agreeing last year to relax its blockade around the Gaza Strip, Israel moved Wednesday to tighten the security cordon by permanently closing what was once its largest commercial crossing point. Israeli military officials cited unspecified security concerns for the closure and promised that all goods that would have passed through at the Karni crossing, southeast of Gaza City, would go through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, the last operational commercial crossing, which is about 21 miles to the southwest at the point where Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip meet.

Israel eases Gaza blockade, permits tomato exports
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 2, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel further eased its blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Wednesday by permitting a first truckload of cherry tomatoes destined for Europe to pass through their common frontier, officials said. Raed Fattouh, a liaison coordinator with Israel, said the truck had passed through a main crossing and its produce was to be shipped to Europe. Israel's Defence Ministry had said on Sunday the shipment was to go through with the produce scheduled to be sent to Europe, in coordination with the Dutch government.

Palestinians Turn to Computer Technology to Avoid Israeli Roadblocks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - February 27, 2011 - 1:00am

Adopting an attitude of “If you can’t beat’em, go around’em,” Palestinian computer programmers have developed a simple text-messaging system to help cope with surprise or crowded checkpoints set up by the Israeli army across the West Bank. Called “Ezma,” or Arabic for traffic, the program is sustained on a user-fed databank that ferries it to subscribers, much like a traffic monitoring system in other countries.

Machsom Watch activist: Removing checkpoints doesn't remove the occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - February 15, 2011 - 1:00am

Susan Lourenco has volunteered for the Machsom Watch organization for seven years, so she is familiar with virtually every Israeli army checkpoint in the West Bank. She is extremely well-acquainted with the Hawara crossing near Nablus - one of the symbols of the occupation and its control over the Palestinian civilian population - having spent many long hours there together with other women active in the organization.

Israeli intelligence forecasts security "earthquake" in Mideast in 2011
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 11, 2011 - 1:00am

The Military Intelligence (MI) of Israel Defense Forces assesses that dramatic strategic changes in the Middle East will unfold in late 2011, Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported Thursday. In the wake of mass demonstrations in Egypt against President Hosni Mubarak's regime in recent weeks, MI's analysts predict a weakening of the security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, alongside a hardening of Palestinian demands for renewing the stalled peace process.

IDF to remove major West Bank checkpoint to enable Palestinian movement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - February 11, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israel Defense Forces yesterday advised the Palestinian Authority that it is removing the Hawara checkpoint, near Nablus. The measure, which is to go into effect next week, will enable the nearly unrestricted movement of Palestinians between the West Bank cities of Nablus and Ramallah.

Crossing borders: the long, lonely walk to Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - February 10, 2011 - 1:00am

I've been in Gaza this week, and - as always – found the experience of crossing from Israel into the Strip and back again unnerving. The vast Israeli terminal, reminiscent of an international airport, is almost deserted. It was planned at a time when thousands of Palestinians crossed in to Israel each day to work. Now very few Palestinians can leave through Erez, and no Israelis are allowed to enter. So it's pretty much the preserve of journalists and NGO workers.

Northern Sinai heating up
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - February 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Embittered and emboldened Bedouin tribesmen have turned the northern Sinai Peninsula into a lawless and violent frontier between Israel and Egypt. Security sources said that the Bedouin have also forged links with radical Hamas operatives who have escaped from Egyptian jails or slipped through the border from the Gaza Strip. Despite reports of an increased Egyptian troop presence, the local security forces have been severely degraded, increasingly attacked and in some cases overwhelmed. Most of the details of the chaos have gone unreported.

What Egypt's unrest could mean for Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - February 3, 2011 - 1:00am

As Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's grip on power slipped this week, Israelis and Palestinians are sizing up what a change in government in Cairo may mean for the Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority officials fear the empowerment of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt might prompt Cairo to ease access to Gaza, and help Hamas consolidate its rule there.

Between the hammer and the anvil
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Oraib Al-Rantawi - February 3, 2011 - 1:00am

Over the last decade, Jordan's policies have centered on a single assumption: that the creation of a viable Palestinian state is a major pillar of Jordan's security and stability. Even more so, it is vital to Jordan's existence and identity. Based on this assumption, Jordan stood firm behind the peace process and was a strong supporter of the two-state solution. In that light, Jordan supported the Arab Peace Initiative and US President George W. Bush's vision for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Equally, Jordan called for the implementation of the roadmap and signed agreements.

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