Karni crossing

The Karni Crossing (Arabic: معبر كارني or معبر المنطار‎, Hebrew: מעבר קרני‎) was a cargo terminal on the Israel-Gaza Strip barrier located in the north-eastern end of the Gaza Strip and was opened in 1994 to allow Palestinian merchants to export and import goods. This was done as a 'back-to-back' transfer, meaning that Palestinian products meant for export was removed from a Palestinian truck and placed in an Israeli truck, or vice versa for incoming goods.[1] The Karni Crossing was also used by the residents of Netzarim since the Karni road was the only route to that isolated Israeli settlement on which Jewish travel was allowed after the 1994 implementation of the Oslo Accords. The Karni Crossing is managed by the Israel Airports Authority, unlike the Erez Crossing, which is managed by the Israel Defense Forces. When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Israel closed the terminal. The crossing has been affected by the Israeli Blockade of the Gaza Strip. At the end of March 2011 Israel permanently shut the Karni Crossing.[2]

Karni Crossing
Gaza Strip border crossings
Coordinates 31°28′29″N 34°28′25″E
CarriesContainers
CrossesIsrael-Gaza Strip barrier
Locale Israel
Gaza Strip
Official nameKarni Crossing
מעבר קרני
معبر كارني
Maintained byIsrael Airports Authority
Palestinian Authority
History
Opened1994
Statistics
Daily traffic344 trucks (2007)
Blockade of the
Gaza Strip
Crossings
2004
Philadelphi Accord
2006
Economic sanctions
2007
Fatah–Hamas battle
2008
2009
Viva Palestina "Lifeline 3"
2010
Freedom Flotilla
Other convoys
2011
2012–2014
Gaza's Ark
2015
Freedom Flotilla III
2016
Women's Boat to Gaza
2018
Just Future For Palestine Flotilla

According to the management, the crossing is named after Joseph Karni, an Israeli who had set up a modern packing warehouse in the Gaza Strip near the present-day cargo terminal shortly after Israel captured the strip in 1967. The Palestinians call it Al-Montar, after the nearby Ali Montar hill.[3]

History

The Karni Crossing was opened in 1994 after the signing of the Oslo Accords to allow Palestinian merchants to export and import goods.

The Karni Crossing has been attacked several times by Palestinian militants since the beginning of the Second Intifada in 2000, in either mortar attacks or frontal infantry assaults, forcing temporary shut-downs for repairs and enhancement of security procedures. Both Palestinians and Israelis have been killed in these attacks. As a crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Karni Crossing has been used for hostile activities by armed forces from the Palestinian side. Militant Palestinian factions have used the Karni Crossing to smuggle suicide bombers and explosive belts into Israel. The deadliest suicide attack to come via Karni was the Port of Ashdod bombing in 2004.[4][5]

In 2006, the Israeli authorities closed the crossing for over 100 days due to terror alerts and rocket fire.[6]

Between September 2006 and June 2007, the crossing was open daily except for several brief closures due to Palestinian labour strikes.[7] When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Israel closed the terminal. The previous operators, who were affiliated with Fatah, had fled to the West Bank. Hamas has offered to bring Fatah back to Karni or hire a Turkish company to operate the Palestinian side, but Israel has refused to deal with Hamas, the de facto authority in the Gaza Strip. In June 2007, the UNWRA coordinator commended the IDF on moving humanitarian shipments to the secondary Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossings, and hoped that Karni could be reopened as part of a longer-term solution.[8]

At the end of March 2011, Israel permanently shut the Karni Crossing.[2]

See also

References
  1. http://israel_history.enacademic.com/523/Karni_Crossing
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2012-07-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Suicide bombing at Ashdod Port".
  5. "Ten Jews Murdered in Double Suicide Attack in Ashdod Port". Israel National News.
  6. http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=22023
  7. "IDF set to close Karni crossing into Gaza".
  8. Steven Erlanger, Taghreed El-Khodary, and Isabel Kershner (2007-07-19). "Gaza's Economy, Already Fragile, May Collapse Unless Crossings Are Reopened, U.N. Reports". The New York Times.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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