Blocked by Israel for up to 8 years, Palestinian post finally arrives
Palestinian postal workers are sorting through more than 10 tonnes of letters and packages blocked by Israel for up to eight years.
And Israel yesterday reopened its only goods crossing in the southern Gaza Strip weeks after it was closed following cross-border clashes.
The parcels, sent as long ago as eight years ago, had been prevented by Israel from entering the West Bank through Jordan but were released in a one-time deal, Palestinian officials said.
The mail at the sorting centre in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho ranges from letters to medicine and even wheelchairs for the disabled.
Palestinian Telecommunications Minister Allam Mousa accused Israel of blocking the delivery and delaying the introduction of an agreement on postal services.
Israeli authorities confirmed the packages had been transferred and said an agreement was in the works.
Ramadan Ghazawi, an official at the sorting centre, said he understood some items had been blocked for security reasons, while others were barred on administrative grounds.
Mr Ghazawi said it would take his staff another two weeks to sort through and deliver all of the parcels.
Israel controls all entrances and exits to the West Bank. Palestinian officials say such control cripples their economy and freedom of movement.
In the sorting centre, hundreds of bags were piled on top of each other as workers picked through them in the summer heat.
Mr Ghazawi said that the packages and letters had been sent from all over the world. Many of the parcels contained goods ordered online by Palestinians. A note attached to a wheelchair made clear it was sent from Turkey in 2015 and should have been delivered to Gaza.
The Israeli Defence Ministry department responsible for civilian co-ordination in the Palestinian territories said the release was part of confidence-building measures after the two sides agreed on a postal entry deal “about a year ago”.
It said, while the deal had not yet come into force for future deliveries, it had “allowed a onetime transfer of approximately ten and a half tonnes of mail that had been held in Jordan”.
Some of the goods were broken and Mr Ghazawi said that to avoid complaints, the sorting centre was delivering them along with a statement saying Israeli authorities had delivered them in this condition.
Meanwhile, at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, dozens of lorries carrying various goods, including desperately needed fuel, began passing into the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
The crossing in Rafah was closed by Israel in July after months of tension followed by border skirmishes.
The crossing is a lifeline for the embargoed strip and the main road in for diesel used to run generators in hospitals and other vital facilities.
Several hospitals have been forced to reduce services or close due to lack of fuel to run generators. Medicines have also been in short supply, with people suffering from longterm health complaints unable to maintain treatment.
Israel and Palestinian officials confirmed the crossing had reopened.
The weekly protests started after the US announced it was moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and have been fuelled by the widespread despair of Gaza’s two million residents.