Gaza Residents Hope Israeli Blockade Will End After Cease-fire

November 26, 2012

Life in Israel and the Gaza Strip is returning to normal after a cease-fire ended an eight-day aerial bombardment between the two sides. Both will need time and money to rebuild but the task for Gaza is expected to be difficult due to an Israeli blockade that chokes its struggling economy.

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza has allowed Palestinian fisherman to return to the sea for the first time in more than a week.

The catch is small. Israel limits how far Gaza's fishermen can travel from the shore. It is part of the blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority five years ago. Since the cease-fire Israel has extended the distance to 10 kilometers, double the previous limit.

Mifleh Abu Riallah says the blockade destroyed Gaza's fishing industry. Two-thirds of the fishermen have quit.

“Our hope is to lift the siege and live in security and that they (Israelis) will open the sea for us completely," said Riallah.

The recent bombardments destroyed the fishermen's cooperative and port authority building along with many other government structures in Gaza.

Since the cease-fire, Israel has allowed Palestinian farmers to visit land near the border fence in what had been a shoot-to-kill zone, two-kilometers-wide, containing one-fourth of Gaza's farmland.