We can not claim it clear and loud: The siege of Gaza has been lifted, or at least just about lifted.

Israel first imposed its “closure” on the Gaza Strip on June 15, 2007, right after Hamas’ military coup. Prime Minister [at the time] Ehud Olmert announced that the border crossings between Israel and Gaza would be closed until further notice. Olmert then flew off to Washington, but not before he allowed for what he called “humanitarian aid” to prevent a dire crisis in Gaza resulting from a dearth of basic foods. Even more than that, he wanted to prevent a torrent of angry criticism of Israel from the international community.

How do you go about imposing a siege while at the same time preventing starvation? At the District Coordination and Liaison Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, they prepared a list of just forty items that could be delivered to the 1.5 million residents of Gaza, and even then, only through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, known to the Palestinians as the Abu Salem border crossing. 

And so cusbara, better known by as coriander or cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), became a symbol of the ruthless nature of Israel’s siege. The inevitable question was: Why was cilantro (and various other, random items such as ginger, jam, musical instruments and notebooks) not included in the list of items that could be provided to Gaza? Based on the government’s response, the reason for this was a military secret of the highest order.