Once more, Israeli activists have obstructed aid trucks from entering the besieged Gaza Strip, where the UN reports that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are at risk of famine.
In recent weeks, Israelis with diverse political views have gathered at the Karem Abu Salem – or Kerem Shalom – crossing to block the delivery of humanitarian aid.
On Wednesday, numerous activists, many of them young, prevented aid trucks from proceeding by lying down on the streets. Some also established tents in the area to disrupt aid supplies for the long term.
The Karem Abu Salem crossing, located on the border with Egypt, is utilized by Israeli forces to inspect aid trucks before they enter the besieged Palestinian territory.
On Tuesday, around 130 humanitarian aid trucks were stopped from entering Gaza by protesters.
One activist wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the people at the crossing included: “Citizens from all over the country, from north and south, from the city and the countryside, religious and secular – from all ends of the political spectrum.”
Despite the severe limitations imposed by Israel on Palestinians in Gaza, such as the shortage of water, food, and electricity supplies, many protesters going to the crossing believe that the Israeli government has been too lenient.
The far-right Jewish nationalist organization, Im Tirtzu, stated: “Overnight: the activists of the Mothers’ March, Torat Lechima, and Im Tirtzu, together with hundreds of citizens, set up a tent camp at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in order to stop the transfer of supplies to Hamas.”
The Mothers’ March, Torat Lechima, and Im Tirtzu issued a joint statement saying: “While our sons are sacrificing their lives to defeat Hamas, we cannot allow ourselves to accept this twisted reality in which our government supplies the enemy with power and food, allowing the enemy to continue the war for a long time. Tonight’s activity is the escalation of the protests we started two months ago, and we will not rest until the Nazi Hamas trucks stop.”
In January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an interim ruling urging Israel to cease obstructing the delivery of aid into Gaza and to improve the humanitarian situation there. It also ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide in the besieged enclave and to punish incitement to genocide.
