Mercantilism

This week, the border crossing from Gaza to Israel has been closed, opened temporarily, then closed again when a bomber was caught crossing the border, no doubt it's open again now.

I got to thinking, Gaza, as you no doubt are aware, borders the eastern mediteranean. Do they not have a seaport?

So I looked. There's a plan for one, from the late 90s, near the old Israeli settlement of Nezarim, but as far as I can tell, it hasn't been built yet. Do Palestinians not import or export anything?

Turns out, according to Ha'retz everything going into or out of Gaza and the west bank has to go through Israel. Israel then charges a 17% VAT tax, which it supposedly transfers to the PA, but hasn't done since Hamas won the recent election. It's hard to get good information on the region, since one side has a regrettable tendency to speak and write in a very pretty-looking language which isn't English, so if you know anything about the Egyptian border with Gaza, a deep water seaport, an airport, or any of the things that really ought to go along with independence, I'd love to hear about it.

I know that the memory of deserts filled with tanks and Arab armies coming to kill every Jew in Israel is still fresh. If I were an Israeli, I would want some guarantees about what gets imported into a Gaza seaport. If I were an Israeli with the right connections, I'd want to keep the Palestinians from trading with any other country except through my import-export company. If I had to make a wager, I'd say that the people making money by importing goods into Gaza and the west bank are a larger political obstacle to Palestinian independence than the fearful memories of 30 years ago.