[Elder of Ziyon] Stories from the "open air prison" of Gaza

In the latest report from COGAT, detailing the imports and exports between Gaza and Israel, we learn an interesting detail:

Heavy-duty diesel for the power plant is delivered directly from Egypt according to the Palestinians' decision; therefore, no diesel is transferred from Israel.

For years Palestinian Arabs and their anti-Israel cohorts have blamed Israel for choking off Gaza's power plant. Yet now Hamas is saying it doesn't need any diesel fuel from Israel at all!

Does that sound like a besieged area?

Other interesting stories about that "open-air prison" known as Gaza that you won't see in the news:

• During that same week, Gaza exported 56 tons of agricultural goods (carnations, cherry tomatoes and strawberries.)

• For the first time, furniture has been exported from Gaza, with a truck full of furniture going to Jordan.

• Last month, 99.5% of the people trying to leave Gaza for medical care in Israel or PA territories received permits. That number has been steadily increasing over the last couple of years.

Also, last week, the Arab League sent 45 tons of food to Gaza through Rafah.

Sounds like a lot, right?

Here are the amounts sent via Israel to Gaza during the second week of January:

Food Products	Trucks	Tons*
Wheat	6	120
Cooking Oil	7	140
Rice	2	40
Produce (Fruits and Vegetables)	57	1140
Meat, Chicken and Fish Products	44	880
Salt	8	160
Dairy Products	25	500
Flour	23	460
Sugar	8	160
Mixed\ Additional Food Products	92	1840
Total food, tons		5440

Most of the aid coming through Israel's crossings originate in the West, showing that while Arabs trumpet every time they give any aid to Gaza, it is a token amount compared to what comes from the West.

And, by the way, Juan Cole's site still says that exports from Gaza are "zero."

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*I based this on 20 tons/truck. The total shipments given in the COGAT statistics indicate 25 tons of aid per truck, so this is a conservative estimate.

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Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder of Ziyon at 1/22/2012 10:15:00 AM