Today, Wednesday, farmers and traders from the Gaza Strip made an urgent appeal to human rights and international institutions and all parties concerned with the agricultural sector, to pressure the occupation to open the “Karm Abu Salem” crossing in front of marketing and exporting agricultural products from Gaza to the West Bank and abroad. .
Ahed al-Agha, director of the Khan Yunis Agricultural Cooperative Society, said that about 250 farmers, traders and workers belonging to the association have been affected by the closure of the crossing to agricultural exports.
Yesterday, Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza warned that the food basket of the residents of the Gaza Strip is approaching the edge of danger, as a result of farmers suffering heavy losses and their reluctance to farm, due to the occupation’s closure of the “Karm Abu Salem” crossing in the face of agricultural exports.
The ministry explained that the value of losses incurred in the agricultural and fish exports sector as a result of the closure of the “Karm Abu Salem” crossing amounted to about (12 million dollars), stressing that the prolongation of the closure by the Israeli occupation, will double the losses of Palestinian farmers and traders.
The ministry indicated that farmers had intentions to refrain from agriculture in light of the low local prices and the occupation’s prevention of allowing their products to be marketed to the West Bank and export to Arab countries, as well as preventing the introduction of production requirements, warning that the continuation of this situation will be reflected on the food basket of citizens in the Strip.
