Brainstorming session: «The crisis of Gaza's crossings — are there solutions?»

Gaza – Wednesday 30 October 2013. In light of the continuation of the crisis of the crossings, whether those designated for the entry of individuals or those designated for goods, and the catastrophic results for the citizen and the Palestinian economy in the Gaza Strip, Pal-Think for Strategic Studies, in cooperation with the Palestinian Contractors Union, organised a discussion and brainstorming session titled “The crisis of the Gaza Strip's crossings — are there solutions?”. Representatives of the political forces, members of the Legislative Council, the Ministry of Economy, the crossings administration, and representatives of some private-sector and civil-society institutions participated in the dialogue session. The participants affirmed the pressing necessity of searching for applicable solutions, whether in the short or the long term, in accordance with the supreme Palestinian interest and the international laws, in order to solve this crisis, which has deepened the suffering of the Gaza Strip's population. It was affirmed that the national reconciliation and the lifting of the Israeli blockade from the Strip are the optimal way to solve the crossings crisis completely, and the necessity of giving precedence to the Palestinian national interest over the partisan interests and keeping away from partisan fanaticism in the issue of the crossings — as coordination can be strengthened between the two governments of Ramallah and Gaza to open the crossings until the reconciliation is achieved, on the model of the health, education, and hajj sectors, which have remained far from the division's effect.

At the session's end the participants recommended the following:

• Examining the possibility of amending and applying the 2005 crossings agreement with all its items, which include operating the Rafah crossing, the safe passage between the Strip and the West Bank, and rebuilding Gaza international airport and the Gaza seaport.

• Demanding of the international community that it continue its efforts in this field, work on opening the Strip's seven crossings, and press Israel to end the blockade of the Strip by land, air, and sea.

• Communicating with the Egyptian government through a Palestinian popular delegation to search for solutions for the Rafah crossing far from the political tugging, affirming the strategic nature of the Egyptian-Palestinian relation, and reactivating the agreements the Palestinian Authority signed in the era of the late President Yasser Arafat concerning strengthening mutual trade and applying the free-trade agreement.

• The necessity of taking the crossings out of the circle of political competition between the two sides of the division and sparing them any political and security fluctuations with the region; demanding of the government in Gaza the taking of more flexible positions regarding the management of the crossings and opening the field to a wider participation of society in this domain, in a way that brings benefit and achieves the citizen's interest; likewise demanding of the Palestinian Authority the activation of its role in this field through placing the lifting of the blockade from Gaza on the agenda of the negotiations with the Israeli side.