JERUSALEM — Israel said Thursday that it had agreed in principle to ease some restrictions on the flow of certain kinds of goods into the Gaza Strip. But details were not disclosed, and Cabinet members remain undecided over how much to loosen the rules, officials said.
After two days of internal debate amid heavy international pressure to overhaul the nation’s Gaza policy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet issued a short statement promising to make “adjustments” and to “liberalize” its policy of tightly restricting the passage of food, household supplies, construction material and other goods over Israel’s borders into the seaside enclave. Generally speaking, only basic humanitarian goods have been permitted in.
Some observers took the vaguely worded statement as a sign that members of Netanyahu’s coalition government need more time to settle disagreements over whether to make minor modifications to the policy or pursue a major overhaul.
“This shows the depths of disagreement on the Gaza policy,” said one government official speaking on condition of anonymity. “There is huge gap between Cabinet members.”
Another government official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because the final policy had not been announced, said divisions were being exaggerated and consensus was likely to be reached in the coming days.
President Barack Obama’s chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Israel’s decision is a “step in the right direction.”
But no changes are being contemplated to Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, which led to a deadly May 31 raid on a flotilla of ships carrying aid, or to restrictions on the movement of people in and out of Gaza.
A significant change in the Gaza restrictions would mark an abrupt reversal for Israel, which for three years has defended the policy as essential to ensuring its security. Israeli officials said part of the goal was to isolate Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that won 2006 Palestinian elections and seized control of Gaza a year later.
As recently as last week, Israeli military officials were warning that the importation of many products, including cement, medical supplies and spare parts, could have “dual use” applications in building weapons or supporting terrorism.
But after rising international criticism over Israel’s high-seas raid last month, Netanyahu came under intense pressure from the U.S. and other Western allies to change the policy. Nine activists were killed during the attack on the aid ship, which was attempting to break Israel’s naval cordon.
Under border restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt, Gaza’s economy has been devastated and thousands of families have been unable to rebuild homes destroyed during Israel’s 22-day military assault on the Gaza Strip 18 months ago.
