10,000 shekels per truck and threats to merchants' lives: How Hamas enforces its taxation mechanism in Gaza
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Major General Yoram Lavi, sent a letter to international officials informing them that private sector merchants have announced a halt to coordinating the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip due to Hamas's forced taxation mechanism and threats to merchants' lives. Hamas demands approximately 10,000 shekels per truck and requires 30% of goods to be sold for cash. The coordinator warns that the cessation of activity undermines the target of 600 trucks per day and calls for international intervention.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Major General Yoram Lavi, sent a letter today to senior international officials informing them that private sector merchants have announced a halt to coordinating the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip until further notice. The reason: Hamas's forced taxation mechanism and increasing threats against merchants who refuse to comply with its demands. The letter was sent to the senior representative for Gaza on the Peace Council, Nikolay Mladenov; the commander of the international stabilization force for the Strip, Major General Jasper Jeffers; and the UN humanitarian coordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov. According to reports, last night Hamas operatives arrested the son of one merchant and transferred him to Abbas prison after the merchant refused the tax demands. Hamas demands payment of approximately 10,000 shekels for each truck of goods, and additionally requires merchants to sell about 30% of the goods for cash, contrary to their commitment to make payments only through bank transfers. The coordinator emphasized that the private sector constitutes about 50% of all trucks entering the Strip, and that the cessation of its activity undermines the target of 600 trucks per day set in the ceasefire agreement. He called on international bodies to act to prevent Hamas's interference in the aid entry mechanism.