- As German police raid 60 purveyors of anti-Semitic, other internet hate postings
Israel opened a major crossing point between Israel and Gaza today to allow the transfer of vehicles carrying goods for the first time in nine years, officials said.
An AFP photographer saw deliveries arriving through the Erez crossing at the entry to the Palestinian territory that has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade.
Erez has been restricted to individuals since 2007, with goods going through Kerem Shalom in southern Gaza.
Residents of the Israeli towns in the area had for months complained about the hundreds of trucks passing through the area daily, which caused heavy traffic and endangered motorists.
In May, then Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said Erez would be opened in order to enable a better flow of goods into Gaza and ease congestion at Kerem Shalom.
A spokesman for COGAT, the Defence Ministry body responsible for implementing government policies in the Palestinian territories, confirmed vehicles had entered Gaza through the Erez crossing.
“This measure has been taken to facilitate the work of Palestinian importers and thus help the economy of the Gaza Strip,” the spokesman told AFP.
An association of Palestinian vehicle owners in Gaza said 110 vehicles arrived on their side through Erez.
Located in the northern Gaza Strip, Erez is nearer to major Israeli cities than Kerem Shalom and could make bringing goods from Israeli port cities such as Ashdod easier.
Israel has imposed its blockade on Gaza for a decade, saying it is necessary to prevent the Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the strip, from rebuilding its military forces and positions.
According to the World Bank and the UN, the blockade has killed virtually all exports from Gaza, as well as bringing the economy of the small enclave to the brink.
Wedged between Egypt, Israel and the Mediterranean, the Gaza Strip is home to about 1.9 million Palestinians.
In the meantime, police in 14 German states reportedly conducted raids on 60 individuals in an attempt to root out the sources of anti-Semitic and other hate postings on the internet.
The raids on Wednesday marked the first time that Germany has conducted a nationwide hunt for internet hate purveyors, according to German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, who said he hoped the operations would send a strong message that criminals cannot hide from the law in the seemingly anonymous internet.
According to German news reports, the raids followed months of observing one Facebook group that glorified National Socialism and broke German laws against promoting hate.
Suspects were accused of posting anti-Semitic, extremist and xenophobic messages, including denial of or relativizing the Holocaust, celebrating aspects of National Socialism and using Nazi symbolism, and calling for attacks on refugees and politicians. Evidence was seized at several locations.
Maizière said in a statement that hate speech paves the way for actual violence, thus the urgency of the crackdown.
According to the ministry, there are increasing numbers of “hate lists” found online with the names, addresses and employers working against right-wing extremism as well as people seeking asylum in Germany. The publication of these lists has been linked with public calls for violence against these people, the statement said.
In Germany, those who encourage violence based on religious or ethnic background can face up to three years in prison.
“There is no area in Germany that is above the law; criminal law applies to the internet” as to any other space where a crime is committed, Maizière said, adding that internet providers also will be held responsible when hate is spread by clients.
NZHerald with additional report from JTA
