Israel fully opened the Karni cargo crossing, on the Gaza Strip border, to merchandise Wednesday for the first time in several months, following a decision by Defense Minister Amir Peretz.
Karni has been open recently for the transfer of goods from Israel into Gaza. As of Wednesday afternoon, goods could be transferred from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
Karni has been periodically closed for extended periods of time due to intelligence warnings of planned terror attacks at the crossing.
A planned attack on the crossing was thwarted some three weeks ago by the Palestinian Authority security services.
Peretz said the opening of the crossing was a strategic decision that directly impacted the Gaza economy. He said the crossing could not remain closed for long purely out of consideration for the risk to the lives of Israelis working there.
‘Our war is against terror, not against the residents of the Strip,’ Peretz said Tuesday during a meeting with senior Southern Command officers.
Most of the goods being transferred from Gaza into Israel are agricultural products. Closing the crossing had a significant economic impact on residents of the Strip.
The decision to open the crossing was made despite warnings of possible plans by terrorist organizations to carry out attacks at the site. The Shin Bet security service expressed reservations about reopening the crossing, and in the IDF, various sources expressed differing positions regarding the danger posed by the move.
At the Gaza security fence opposite Kibbutz Mefalsim and Kfar Aza, Palestinians threw stones and burned tires. Soldiers fired at the legs of young men who tried to climb the fence, injuring at least two of them. The IDF said the incident started after a funeral for Palestinians killed in a brawl in Gaza.