New documents obtained by Israeli NGOs HaMoked, Israeli Physicians for Human Rights, and GISHA under the Freedom of Information Act reveal further details about how Israel’s COGAT decides-on a weekly basis-what items to allow in and out of Gaza, and what items to ban.
The big takeaway from this for those not already aware: That the Israeli siege on Gaza is a siege of the mind and soul, a siege that is starving people of their basic freedoms and of mental sustenance, not of food.
By way of example, Gaza is still closed off from the West Bank, where many people focus exclusively on the Rafah Crossing; the newly obtained documents reveal that while soccer players have been given the green light to travel from Gaza to the West Bank, students are specifically singled out for the ban. So, in fact, are books, textbooks, printing ink, and writing instruments…all subject o individual approval by COGAT. Yes, you read that right. Books and students are banned.
Chilling, isn’t it?