Car smuggling business revs up as Palestinians skirt Israeli restrictions
Some car smugglers in Palestine are carrying out covert importation operations of Chinese cars from Egypt through the tunnels.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Since the beginning of the blockade on the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Israel enlisted automobiles as part of the banned goods in Gaza, in addition to other major products.
The importation of cars from Israel into the territories of the Palestinian Authority (PA) is governed by Article 11 of the Paris Protocol, which states: “Used motor vehicles will be imported only if they are passenger cars or dual-purpose passenger cars of a model of no more than three years prior to the importation year.”
“The number of automobile importers accredited by the [PA] in Ramallah and the Israeli occupation forces amount to about 54 importers since 2004. No new importers have been accredited since then, and only 30 of them are still operating at this time,” said Ramez Hassouna, the executive director of the Automobile Importers Association in the Gaza Strip.
In early July, Israel announced the resumption of automobile importation into Gaza, as part of the facilities on allowing the entry of 10 other products, in response to international pressure following its attack on the Gaza aid flotilla in May 2010 on its way to the Gaza Strip, which caused the death of nine Turkish activists. However, disagreements between the PA and the outgoing Hamas-run government in Gaza over which party is eligible to manage and coordinate the automobile importation and tax collection hampered the procedure.
