User talk:Kasaalan/sandbox

Israel allows limited humanitarian supplies from aid organizations into the Gaza Strip. According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories of the Israel Defense Forces, in May 2010, this included over 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel and gasoline, fruits and vegetables, wheat, sugar, meat, chicken and fish products, dairy products, animal feed, hygiene products, clothing and shoes.

Humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies, also bring goods into Gaza. They have consistently been allowed to bring in staple foods and medicines, while other items are approved or rejected on a case-by-case basis.

Background
In September 2007, citing an intensification of Qassam rocket attacks, Israel declared Gaza "hostile territory." The declaration allowed Israel to prevent the transfer of electricity, fuel, and other supplies into Gaza. The stated purpose of the blockade was to pressure Hamas into ending the rocket attacks and to deprive them of the supplies necessary for the continuation of rocket attacks. It argued that following the takeover of Gaza by Hamas and the intensification of Qassam rocket attacks, it is not legally responsible for Gaza and not obliged to help a hostile territory beyond whatever is necessary to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at various times, items such as wheelchairs, dry food items, and crayons, to stationary, soccer balls, and musical instruments have been blocked by Israel. Amnesty International and other organisations reported that cement, glass, steel, bitumen, wood, paint, doors, plastic pipes, metal pipes, metal reinforcement rods, aggregate, generators, high voltage cables and wooden telegraph poles are high priority reconstruction materials currently with no or highly limited entry into Gaza through official crossings. A UN report by Kevin M. Cahill called the restrictions "Draconian", and said that reconstruction is halted because Israel does not permit the importation of steel, cement or glass, among other building materials, and has restricted importation of lentils, pasta, tomato paste and juice, as well as batteries for hearing aids. He said that despite the restrictions UNRWA has been able to provide a basic food supply to over a million refugees in the Gaza Strip.

The Gisha Lawsuit
In January 2010, the Israeli human rights group Gisha took Israeli authorities to court, it attempt to force them to reveal which goods were permitted and which goods weren't. An Israeli government document obtained in response to the lawsuit describes Israel's blockade as "economic warfare":

"A country has the right to decide that it chooses not to engage in economic relations or to give economic assistance to the other party to the conflict, or that it wishes to operate using 'economic warfare'."

An Israeli government spokesman in June 2010 added that the blockade is intended to bring about a political goal and that Israel "could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control" of Gaza.

List of Goods Allowed Into Gaza
Israel has never published a list of banned items, saying it approves requests on a case-by-case basis. A list of items which Israel allowed for Import has been compiled by the BBC from confidential information from international groups including Israeli Human Rights Organisation Gisha. The list refers to goods brought in by commercial importers. Humanitarian organisations, including UN agencies, also bring goods into Gaza. Humanitarian organisations have been allowed to bring in staple foods and medicines, while other items are approved or rejected on a case-by-case basis.

Prohibited Items
A nnumber of items have been banned by Israel includes both food, building supplies/construction materials, hygiene products, some animals and machinery. The Israel government has not issued an offical list of banned items.

Gisha have said that their list is approximate, partial and it changes from time to time because Israeli authorities refuse to disclose information regarding the restrictions on transferring goods into Gaza. The prohibited/permitted item list is based on information from the Palestinian traders and businesspersons, international organizations, and the Palestinian Coordination Committee, "all of whom "deduce" what is permitted and what is banned based on their experience requesting permission to bring goods into Gaza and the answers they receive from the Israeli authorities". Also Israel permits some of the "prohibited" items into Gaza (for example: paper, biscuits, and chocolate), on the condition that they are for the use of international organizations, while requests from private merchants to purchase them are denied. According to Gisha the items that have been prohibited include:.


 * buoys
 * cardamom
 * cattle
 * cement
 * chicks
 * chocolate
 * coriander
 * cumin
 * dairies for cowsheds
 * donkeys
 * dried fruit
 * fabric (for clothing)
 * fishing rods
 * flavor and smell enhancers
 * fresh meat
 * gas for soft drinks
 * ginger
 * goats
 * halva
 * hatcheries and spare parts for hatcheries
 * heaters
 * heaters for chicken farms
 * horses
 * industrial margarine
 * industrial salt
 * iron
 * irrigation pipe systems
 * jam
 * musical instruments
 * newspapers
 * notebooks
 * nutmeg
 * nylon nets for greenhouses
 * planters for saplings
 * plaster
 * plastic/glass/metal containers
 * razors
 * ropes for fishing
 * ropes to tie greenhouses
 * sage
 * seeds and nuts
 * sewing machines and spare parts
 * size A4 paper
 * spare parts for tractors
 * tar
 * tarpaulin sheets for huts
 * toys
 * various fishing nets
 * vinegar
 * wood for construction
 * writing implements

Additional items (according to haaretz) include :
 * books
 * candles
 * crayons, clothing
 * Cups
 * cutlery, crockery
 * electric appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines
 * glasses
 * light bulbs
 * matches
 * musical instruments
 * needles
 * sheets, blankets
 * shoes, mattresses
 * spare machine and car parts
 * threads

Fox news has also claimed that steel is banned.

According to an AFP press release other banned goods include toilet paper.

Time has claimed that fishing nets and sage are also prohibited

The Economist has claimed that tea was at one time banned

Housing/Basic needs
Requires fixed column width, and some more sorting however I have separated tables. Kasaalan (talk) 11:38, 14 July 2010 (UTC)