An Israeli rights organization on Tuesday said the army is still preventing basic goods like vinegar, coriander and toys from entering Gaza Strip as part of an embargo on the Palestinian enclave. The report by the Gisha Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement, marking three years since measures were tightened, said Israel permits just 97 different items to enter, as compared to more than 4,000 that entered before June 2007.
A large Israeli supermarket, by comparison, would be stocked with 10,000 to 15,000 different items, the organization said, according to AFP. The Gisha report said Israel keeps out goods that have no apparent military purpose, including ginger, paper and musical instruments. "(Israel) forbids the transfer to Gaza of large blocks of margarine intended for industrial usage yet allows in small packages of margarine for household consumption," Gisha said.
"It bans the transfer of rubber, glue and nylon which are used in the production of diapers in the Strip, yet allows the transfer of diapers produced in Israel."
Just 2,300 truckloads of goods are allowed in each month, compared to 10,400 before the blockade, it said, adding that some 30,000 trucks enter Manhattan, which has roughly the same population as Gaza, each day.
