High Court rejects bid to open Gaza crossings to humanitarian aid

March 13, 2007

By Yuval Yoaz

The High Court of Justice on Tuesday rejected a petition to open all crossings between the Gaza Strip in Israel for the transfer of gasoline supply, medication and humanitarian aids.

The petition was submitted by six human rights organizations, including The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights, Hamoked Center for the Defense of the Individual, B'Tselem, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Gisha.

The head of the Israel Defense Forces' Coordination and Liaison Administration, Colonel Nir Peres, told the justices during the deliberations Tuesday that, "Israel has no interest in creating a humanitarian crisis in the Strip, and is doing all it can to ensure the transfer of necessary provisions to the residents of the Strip, in coordination with the international community."

The justices ruled that the government's current policy of opening the crossings to allow in merchandise and closing them in cases of terror alert is "balanced and reasonable."