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Hamas boycotts fruit from Israel in retaliation for partial border closure

Hamas is blocking the entry of Israeli produce into Gaza in retaliation for the partial closure of the Kerem Shalom Crossing. 

By: World Israel News Staff

Hamas has announced it is retaliating against Israel’s partial closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing at the Gaza border by blocking the entry of Israeli produce into the Strip.

Israel announced Monday that it was shutting down the crossing in response to the incessant arson terror from Gaza over the past three and a half months.

“After months of ongoing and various terror attacks from Hamas, today the IDF took significant measures to ensure the safety of Israeli civilians,” the IDF stated.

The crossing will now be open only for humanitarian purposes, such as the transfer of food and medicine. Exports and marketing of goods will no longer take place there.

In response, Hamas, which rules Gaza, announced Tuesday that it was blocking the entry of any Israeli fruits into the Strip, seeking to cause Israeli farmers financial damage.

Some 30-to-40 truckloads of Israeli produce enter Gaza daily.

On Tuesday, 6,567 tons of goods in 216 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing,. There were three ambulance crossings through the Erez Crossing, and 11 Palestinians entered Israel from Gaza for humanitarian purposes.

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Wood, cement and iron were withheld from Gaza, while food, fuel, medicine and other essentials were sent in.

Hamas condemned the Israeli measure as a move to “further tighten the siege and prevent the entry of goods into the already crippled coastal enclave,” calling it a “new crime against humanity added to the record of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people.”