The Israeli authorities finally decided to allow cement to be entered into Gaza after it been disallowed for two months. Large quantities of cement have been crossed through the Kerem Shalom border in the east of Rafah city. The Palestinian director of the border Moneer Ghalban assured that the process of entering cement into Gaza had officially started since early morning today. He also stated that 70 trucks carrying 2000 - 2500 tons of cement were supposed to be allowed to enter Gaza emphasizing that those quantities are meant for private and public construction projects only.
Mr. Ghalban also said that the security officials and the Ministry of National Economy in Gaza are exerting all the necessary efforts to ensure the protection of cement consumers and penalize the traders who attempt to increase the purchase prices of cement. In fact, lots of people in Gaza have been waiting for cement in order to continue rehabilitating their houses which were destroyed during the last offensive on Gaza in 2014. It is expected that cement will continue being allowed to be entered into Gaza during the upcoming few days.
It is important to remind that the Israeli PM Netanyahu decided on April 19 to stop allowing for cement to enter Gaza since he claimed that it is used by the militant groups for building tunnels used for military purposes. However, Netanyahu's decision has caused a dramatic increase of the suffering of Gaza people after the house repairing and rehabilitation projects were completely stopped. Those people whose houses were destroyed during the last war have been living with their children in the streets of Gaza as a result of the delays in delivering the cement needed for rebuilding their houses.
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