Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent an appeal this evening (Thursday) to the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and members of the war cabinet, demanding clarifications on the resumption of trade between Palestinian Authority merchants and their counterparts in Gaza.
In his letter, Smotrich wrote: "The difficult incident of the blockade of the convoy of aid trucks in the area of the Tarkomiya crossing allowed me to find out the origin and destination of the goods that were supposed to be transferred from the PA to the Gaza Strip and from the inquiry I made, two things emerge: 1. These are goods from one set of private traders to another. 2. It is claimed by several sources in the IDF that this was humanitarian aid from the UN warehouses in Judea and Samaria destined for the Gaza Strip as the Egyptianians have blocked the axis pass to Gaza."
Smotrich appealed: "First, I would like to receive a qualified answer as to the origin and purpose of the goods. If indeed it is private goods from one group of merchants to another, then this is an exception to the cabinet's decisions. The cabinet approved the introduction of humanitarian aid from international organizations or countries and absolutely not the resumption of private trade with the Gaza Strip. To the extent that it is indeed the aforementioned goods, I would like to know who made the claim that this was humanitarian aid originating from UN warehouses to hide the truth."
The Minister of Finance added: "From information that reached me it appears that last night private goods originating in Israel were also transferred to Gaza. The above is also not consistent with the decisions of the cabinet, and on the face of it, was carried out without prior authorization."
"I would like to receive the details of the goods that were brought in and know who was behind the move. It goes without saying that goods originating in Israel also bear consequences in terms of customs and taxation considerations, which are under my authority as Minister of Finance. I will also request to receive the list of merchants to whom the goods were destined in the Gaza Strip, their area of activity in Gaza, and their political/organizational affiliation according to the knowledge of the security establishment.''