GAZA CITY
By Ola Atallah
Israeli authorities on Tuesday allowed limited quantities of construction materials into the Gaza Strip for the first time in two months.
Raed Fattouh, head of Gaza's coordination committee for the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip, told Anadolu Agency that two truckloads of cement and as many truckloads of gravel had been allowed into the Palestinian enclave via the Karam Abu Salem commercial crossing with Egypt.
The materials are only allowed to be used for projects planned by UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, he added.
"Israel has promised to allow more quantities to go towards UNRWA projects in the coming days," Fattouh said.
In October, Israeli authorities ordered a halt to the entry of construction materials into the strip following the discovery of an alleged Hamas-built tunnel leading from inside the strip to Israel's Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha.
In late September, the self-proclaimed Jewish state resumed delivery of construction materials into Gaza – after a six-year hiatus – through the Karam Abu Salem crossing.
The crossing, located southeast of Gaza, is a meeting point for the borders of Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Israel, citing "security reasons," has blocked the entry of building supplies into the territory since 2007 as part of its seven-year-old blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In recent years, Gazans have responded to the siege by smuggling proscribed items from neighboring Egypt through an expansive network of underground tunnels.
A recent crackdown on the tunnels by the Egyptian army, however, has served to squeeze the strip further, bringing it to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe.
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