Blockade of The Gaza Strip - Further Easing (2011-2013)

Further Easing (2011-2013)

Following the Egyptian revolution of 2011, the new Egyptian leadership opened the Rafah crossing to the Gaza Strip on 28 May 2011, for women, children and men over 40. Men aged between 18 and 40 require a permit and trade is prohibited. Palestinians leaving Gaza are required to carry ID cards issued by Israel. Israel criticised the opening citing security concerns. However, little changed in reality, and there were still severe restrictions on movements to and from Gaza. In 2012 Egypt started supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip, to help ease a lengthy fuel crisis arising from a dispute between Egypt and the Hamas government in Gaza over whether Gaza can trade with Egypt openly, or only via Israel.

Prior to a Gaza visit, scheduled for April 2013, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan explained to Turkish newspaper Hürriyet that the fulfilment of three conditions by Israel was necessary for friendly relations to resume between Turkey and Israel: an apology for the raid (Prime Minister Netanyahu had delivered an apology to Erdogan by telephone on March 22, 2013), the awarding of compensation to the families affected by the raid, and the lifting of the Gaza blockade by Israel. The Turkish prime minister also explained in the Hürriyet interview, in relation to the April 2013 Gaza visit, "We will monitor the situation to see if the promises are kept or not." At the same time, Netanyahu affirmed that Israel would only consider exploring the removal of the Gaza blockade if peace ("quiet") is achieved in the area.