GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Egyptian authorities brought in vegetables, fruits and other goods into the Gaza Strip on Feb. 23 through the Saladin gate crossing, in the southern part of Rafah city, instead of using the standard Rafah border crossing as they normally do.

The Saladin gate, controlled by the Hamas security services, is located on the border between Egypt and Gaza at the site of the original Rafah land crossing that was bombed by Israel in October 2009, 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) south of the new Rafah crossing. By entering through this gate, the goods escape customs and levies imposed on the Rafah crossing by the security services affiliated with the consensus government.

Gaza has seven crossings for the movement of goods and people, six of which are under the control of Israel, which decides when the crossings open and what goods are allowed in. Meanwhile, the Rafah border crossing for the movement of Palestinians and the export of certain products from Gaza is under Palestinian and Egyptian control, without Israeli intervention. The official commercial crossings do not include the Saladin gate.

An official from the Crossing and Borders Authority, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA), told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the authority had refused to allow the trucks to pass at an official commercial crossing under the excuse of not having the right equipment to examine them. The official claimed, however, that the real reason was that these trucks violate the Paris Protocol between the PLO and Israel. Hence, the trucks went through at the unofficial Saladin crossing Feb. 23 instead without proper inspection.