http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/12/mideast/pals.php
A Palestinian farmer carrying flowers at a farm in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters) Gaza flowers go to Europe By Isabel Kershner Thursday, February 12, 2009 JERUSALEM: Israel on Thursday allowed the export of a shipment of flowers from Hamas-run Gaza for the first time in about a year, Israeli officials said. The flowers, destined to reach the European market in time for Valentine's Day on Saturday, are hardly a token of Israeli love for the Islamic rulers of the Palestinian enclave, but they could portend a possible thaw in commercial relations in the context of a cease-fire. When asked about additional exports, Major Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Ministry agency that handles Palestinian civilian affairs, said, "There are no further activities scheduled, but we will be reviewing the situation from time to time." "Basically it is a Palestinian decision - whether they want to send flowers or rockets," Lerner said. Israel allowed the shipment of 25,000 carnations to pass through the Kerem Shalom cargo terminal on the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday at the request of the Dutch government, Lerner said. They are scheduled to be flown from Ben-Gurion airport on Friday. Gaza does not have a functioning airport or seaport, and it has no commercial crossing on its border with Egypt, so all exports have to pass through Israel. The gesture came less than a month after Israel ended its 22-day military offensive in Gaza, an action that Israeli officials contended was primarily designed to stop Palestinian militants firing rockets into southern Israel. There has been a trickle of rocket and mortar fire since both sides declared separate cease-fires Jan. 18. Egypt is trying to broker understandings for a broader cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The main Hamas demand is for an opening of the Gaza border crossings and the lifting of the economic embargo that Israel has imposed on the area since the Hamas takeover in June 2007. Israel permits some humanitarian aid into Gaza and recently increased the amount of goods going in to up to 200 truckloads a day. But almost no exports have been allowed. In November 2007, Israel announced that it would allow the export of some agricultural produce from Gaza, mainly flowers and strawberries destined for Europe. That came as part of a general effort to create a positive atmosphere leading up to the American-sponsored peace gathering at Annapolis, Maryland, later that month. The flower and strawberry season runs from November through March, but the exports were cut short in 2008 by repeated attacks by Palestinian militants on the border crossings. The 25,000 carnations represented a hesitant first step. In normal times, Gaza used to export about 60 million flowers a year. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
