Introduction
Since Hamas came to power in Gaza in June 2007, Israel's policy of closure on the Strip has undergone shifts and changes, pointing, at best, to a policy in flux, and, at worst, to a a lack of coherent policy entirely. Relative to the most extreme years of closure and particularly since the 2014 military operation, Protective Edge, Israel has allowed some expanded movement of people and goods. At the same time, over the past year, positive trends have been reversed and sweeping and indiscriminate restrictions on travel and on movement of goods remain in place. Compared to pre-closure data, travel of people and movement of goods remain a fraction of what they were, and certainly a fraction of what they could be.
The following information sheet graphs the changes that have occurred over the past 10 plus years, providing context for those changes based on Gisha's close analysis of policy trends since our found in 2005. Our hope is that this information demonstrates two important insights.
- Despite the continued presence of Hamas in Gaza, changes in policy that were once thought of as anathema did occur.
- There is a lot more that can be done to lift the closure on Gaza, and to ensure residents of the Strip their right to freedom of movement