Israeli ban on donkey import stops the wheel of Gaza cart economy

An Israeli NGO erroneously claims that donkeys are tortured in the Gaza Strip and that they are slaughtered there and their skins are sold to China via Egypt. (AFP)
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Updated 23 October 2022
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Israeli ban on donkey import stops the wheel of Gaza cart economy

  • Palestinians use donkeys to pull carts by which farm produce is transported to markets

GAZA CITY: Cattle carts arriving at the vegetable market in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza and vendors and shoppers flocking to them have been a regular feature for years in the strip besieged by Israel.

But this might become a thing of the past as Israel has been preventing donkeys from entering the Gaza Strip since December last year, according to donkey dealers in Gaza.

Hani Al-Nadi, 40, a donkey dealer, said that Israel prevented him and other traders from importing the animals into Gaza.

“In December, I was informed by the Israeli authorities at the Erez Crossing that I am not allowed to obtain an import permit for donkeys,” Al-Nadi told Arab News.

He said an Israeli nongovernmental organization claimed that donkeys are tortured in Gaza and that after they are imported from Israel, they are slaughtered and their skins are sold to China via Egypt.

Ofer Stritch, from Starting Over, a nonprofit Israeli animal sanctuary, said: “We learned from multiple sources in Gaza that many donkeys arriving in the strip via Israel are sent to Egypt where they are slaughtered and their skins sold to China.

“We realized that there is a sudden increase in the number of donkeys that are transported from Israel to Egypt via Gaza.”

Al-Nadi rejected the allegations and said: “We cannot export anything through Egypt, and donkeys are not slaughtered in Gaza. I do not know the reason for this claim.”

According to Al-Nadi, Israel is the only source for importing donkeys, which are used for cheap transportation in light of the high fuel prices, into the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians use donkeys to pull carts through which farm produce is transported to markets or sold by street vendors.

Mahmoud Al-Ra’i, 33, said: “For 15 years I have been using a donkey cart to sell vegetables in Gaza streets. This is the second donkey that I have bought since the beginning of my work in this field.”

Al-Ra’i wanted to replace his donkey a month ago, but he dropped the idea when he learned about the high prices of donkeys as a result of the Israeli ban on the import of the animals.

The average price of a donkey in the Gaza Strip was about $200, but it has risen to about $800 now.

Gaza’s businesses use traditional means of transportation including trucks and tuk-tuks, but the high fuel price of $2 per liter has prompted some drivers to use donkeys and horses.

Rami Al-Shandaghli, 47, said: “Fuel prices are high in Gaza, and the profit rate is low due to the bad economic situation. Donkeys are the best way, and the cost of feeding and caring for them is very low.

“The cost of a donkey’s food per day does not exceed 5 shekels ($1.5), and wounds can be healed by a swim in the sea, and the average lifespan of a donkey is 20 years,” Al-Shandaghli said.

Israel controls most of the Gaza Strip’s imports as they enter through its Kerem Shalom crossing.

Egypt allows some goods to enter the Gaza Strip through the Salah El-Din crossing.

According to Al-Nadi, the Gaza Strip used to import between 500-600 donkeys annually, but since the beginning of the year, no new donkey has entered Gaza.

“Currently, I do not have a job in the field of donkeys. Until the issue is resolved, I will be helping my father raise cows. Israel has suspended my entry permit as well,” he said.


Israel defense ministry says arms exports hit all time high in 2024

Updated 12 sec ago
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Israel defense ministry says arms exports hit all time high in 2024

“Israel again reached an all-time peak in defense exports in 2024,” the ministry said

JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense ministry said Wednesday that its arms exports hit an all-time high of more than $14.7 billion in 2024, with a sharp rise in deals with Arab Gulf states, despite international criticism of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

“Israel again reached an all-time peak in defense exports in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive record-breaking year in the scope of defense agreements,” the ministry, which oversees and approves the exports of Israel’s defense industries, said in a statement.

Suspected crypto kidnappings mastermind arrested in Morocco

Updated 19 min 1 sec ago
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Suspected crypto kidnappings mastermind arrested in Morocco

  • France thanks Morocco for arresting 24-year-old after kidnappings targeting French crypto entrepreneurs

PARIS: France’s justice minister on Wednesday said that Morocco had arrested a man suspected of ordering a series of kidnappings targeting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in France.
“I sincerely thank Morocco for this arrest, which demonstrates excellent judicial cooperation between our two countries, particularly in the fight against organized crime,” Gerald Darmanin said on X.


Turkiye’s AJet to start flights to Syria’s Damascus

Updated 40 min 48 sec ago
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Turkiye’s AJet to start flights to Syria’s Damascus

  • AJet said flights from Sabiha Gokcen airport will begin from Jun. 16
  • Flights to Damascus from Ankara will start from Jun. 17

ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet said it will start flights to Damascus International from Istanbul and Ankara airports in mid-June.

AJet said in a statement that flights from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport will begin from Jun. 16. Flights will initially take place four times per week before operating daily from July, it added.

Flights to Damascus from the Turkish capital Ankara will start from Jun. 17, three-times per week, the carrier also said.

Turkish Airlines resumed flights to Damascus in January after a 13-year suspension.

Turkiye, a close ally of the new government in Damascus, has pledged to support the country’s reconstruction. Ankara has already helped with the improvement and maintenance of Syria’s airports, the Turkish transport minister has said.


UAE president meets Egypt’s Sisi in Abu Dhabi

Updated 04 June 2025
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UAE president meets Egypt’s Sisi in Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed met his counterpart Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.  
El-Sisi, who is on a visit to the UAE, arrived at the presidential airport and was received by the UAE leader along with a number of senior officials.


Turkiye backing Syria’s military and has no immediate withdrawal plans, defense minister says

Updated 04 June 2025
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Turkiye backing Syria’s military and has no immediate withdrawal plans, defense minister says

  • Guler says Israel de-confliction talks continue
  • Turkish troops stay for now in Syria, he tells Reuters

ANKARA: Turkiye is training and advising Syria’s armed forces and helping improve its defenses, and has no immediate plans for the withdrawal or relocation of its troops stationed there, Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters.
Turkiye has emerged as a key foreign ally of Syria’s new government since rebels — some of them backed for years by Ankara — ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December to end his family’s five-decade rule.
It has promised to help rebuild neighboring Syria and facilitate the return of millions of Syrian civil war refugees, and played a key role last month getting US and European sanctions on Syria lifted.
The newfound Turkish influence in Damascus has raised Israeli concerns and risked a standoff or worse in Syria between the regional powers.
In written answers to questions from Reuters, Guler said Turkiye and Israel — which carried out its latest airstrikes on southern Syria late on Tuesday — are continuing de-confliction talks to avoid military accidents in the country.
Turkiye’s overall priority in Syria is preserving its territorial integrity and unity, and ridding it of terrorism, he said, adding Ankara was supporting Damascus in these efforts.
“We have started providing military training and consultancy services, while taking steps to increase Syria’s defense capacity,” Guler said, without elaborating on those steps.
Named to the post by President Tayyip Erdogan two years ago, Guler said it was too early to discuss possible withdrawal or relocation of the more than 20,000 Turkish troops in Syria.
Ankara controlled swathes of northern Syria and established dozens of bases there after several cross-border operations in recent years against Kurdish militants it deems terrorists.
This can “only be re-evaluated when Syria achieves peace and stability, when the threat of terrorism in the region is fully removed, when our border security is fully ensured, and when the honorable return of people who had to flee is done,” he said.
NATO member Turkiye has accused Israel of undermining Syrian peace and rebuilding with its military operations there in recent months and, since late 2023, has also fiercely criticized Israel’s assault on Gaza.
But the two regional powers have been quietly working to establish a de-confliction mechanism in Syria.
Guler described the talks as “technical level meetings to establish a de-confliction mechanism to prevent unwanted events” or direct conflict, as well as “a communication and coordination structure.”
“Our efforts to form this line and make it fully operational continue. Yet it should not be forgotten that the de-confliction mechanism is not a normalization,” he told Reuters.