In an interview Friday with Ma’an News Service, the American Consul General in Jerusalem, Jake Walles, described the situation in the Gaza Strip as “difficult", drawing particular attention to the running out of food supplies in stores there.
In an interview conducted by our Jerusalem correspondent with the Consul General, Walles talked about his concerns, stating, “It is clear to us that the situation is grave, and that’s a matter of a great concern to us.”
He stated that in the last several days, the U.S. government has made a major effort to try to deal with that problem and that both Ambassador Johns and himself organized a meeting last Sunday at the Ambassador’s house in Hertzilia, where officials from the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government came together to talk about the Rafah crossing points.
During the meeting, it was agreed to open the Kerem Shalom crossing for goods coming from Egypt. Additionally, Walles said, there have been talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Egyptian government about bringing in food and medicine from Egypt. On Tuesday, the Israeli government agreed to open the Karni crossing for a short time and only few trucks were able to get in.
The Consul General expressed his satisfaction toward the flexibility shown by the Palestinian and Israeli officials and was pleased with the Israeli side’s willingness to reopen the Karni crossing in return for the Palestinian side’s willingness to take some security steps. “We hope this cooperation will continue, and the situation will be normal and goods will go in and out of Gaza,” he said.
