Erez Crossing, 2019. Photo by Asmaa Elkhaldi

Erez Crossing

Currently, only two crossings are used for pedestrian travel into and out of Gaza – Rafah, into Egypt, and Erez, into Israel. When Rafah Crossing is closed, Erez Crossing, controlled by Israel, is Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world. Even when Rafah is open, Erez is the only gateway from Gaza to Israel and the West Bank, entry into which is completely controlled by Israel.

Passage through Erez Crossing is subject to Israeli security clearance and interpretation of a narrow and fluid list of criteria for travel. Sometimes, residents who have received permits and have ostensibly been cleared for travel are still denied passage upon arrival at Erez Crossing. For example, traders are told that their permits have been denied due to a “security block,” with no further explanation, including veteran, well-known traders who have traveled back and forth between Gaza and Israel for years, doing business (mostly purchasing goods) in Israel.

Beyond routine restrictions on travel, Israel uses its control over Erez Crossing as a lever of pressure on the civilian population, sometimes shutting down the crossing entirely. For instance, Israel shut down Erez Crossing in response to weekly demonstrations that were held between March 2018 and late 2019 near the Gaza perimeter fence. It has also closed the crossing in response to rocket fire towards Israel or during military operations, even when there is no direct link to the safety of civilians or officials at the crossing itself.

Three main categories of people are eligible to request permits to cross at Erez, though this does not guarantee they will receive a permit: traders or merchants, medical patients and their companions, and other “exceptional humanitarian cases,” i.e. people traveling to attend the wedding or funeral of a first-degree relative, or visit a terminally ill first-degree relative. Application processing times, even for those meeting the narrow criteria, are unreasonably long. According to the official directive, an application to visit a sick child or parent may take up to 50 business days. Applications by patients from the Gaza Strip to exit for medical treatment may take as long as 23 business days, regardless of the medical appointment date. Often, Israeli authorities don’t respond to permit applications within these timeframes, or don’t respond at all.

The average number of exits by Palestinians via Erez Crossing in 2019 was about 14,960 exits per month, a 43% increase compared to the monthly average for 2018 (8,607 exits). Despite this increase, the average number of exits is still only a fraction of the roughly 500,000 exits by Palestinian day laborers recorded at Erez Crossing each month in 2000, before the start of the Second Intifada.

Additional travel restrictions enforced by Israel at Erez Crossing on March 8, 2020, for the Jewish holiday of Purim, have remained in place since under the guise of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Despite the pandemic-related lockdown being mostly lifted in Israel and the West Bank, Israel continues to limit entry into Gaza to returning residents. Exit is being restricted almost entirely to patients in need of critical (non-COVID related) medical treatment that is unavailable in the Strip. In February 2020, before movement restrictions were tightened further by Israel, a total of 21,032 exits were recorded at Erez Crossing. By March, the number had dropped by 76%, reaching 5,533 exits in total. In May and April, only 222 and 213 exits were recorded, respectively, less than 2% of the monthly average in 2019.

In late May 2020, the Palestinian Authority decided to halt civilian coordination between its representatives in Gaza and the Israeli authorities. Despite its obligation to do so, Israel has not indicated any alternate mechanism by which Palestinians can apply for permits to cross to and from Gaza, other than medical patients.

Rafah Crossing

The Gaza-Egypt border crossing point is Rafah Crossing. From mid-2012 to mid-2013 the crossing was open regularly, with some 40,000 exits and entries recorded each month. Beginning in July 2013, the crossing remained closed most of the time, until it resumed more regular operations in May 2018, as the Great March of Return protests began and humanitarian conditions in Gaza deteriorated. Given the grim economic reality in Gaza, many young adults took advantage of the crossing’s relatively regular operation to leave the Strip in search of a better future.

In March 2020, Egypt closed the crossing in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and has opened the crossing only on a few occasions since. In April and May 2020, the crossing shut down entirely; exits to Egypt dropped to zero, and only 2,804 entries into Gaza were recorded.

Even when the crossing is open more regularly, only people who meet Egypt’s criteria may travel through Rafah, subject to preregistration: Gaza residents with foreign residency or passports, patients with referrals for medical treatment in Egypt, and individuals with study, work or family visitation visas for third countries. Getting permission to cross can take time and transit through the Sinai desert is arduous, and often dangerous. Israel’s policy is to forbid return to Gaza via Erez to people who exited the Strip via Rafah. Importantly, Rafah Crossing does not provide a solution for Gaza residents who need to access the West Bank and Israel, including for medical care and to visit family members who live there. Israel does not allow Gaza residents to enter the West Bank without an Israeli-issued permit, whether they cross via Israeli territory or attempt to enter the West Bank from Jordan.

From May 2018 till the end of February 2020, a monthly average of 5,231 entries into Gaza and 6,610 exits was recorded at Rafah Crossing.