I’ve crossed the terrifying Erez Crossing multiple times across the past decade. Let me describe the experience for you 🧵
I arrived in a taxi to what looks like the outer wall of a prison. Because that’s what Gaza is. Israel has built prison walls 30m high around the Palestinian towns that make up Gaza.
Next…
You enter the main building which feels like a departure lounge in an airport. A row of desks where Israeli soldiers check your documentation before allowing you (or not) to move on.
Then you begin a long walk through endless concrete and steel corridors
Every now and then you come to a floor to ceiling steel turnstile. Above it are a red light and a green light. You look up at a camera, you hear a loud buzz, and the green light comes on. You go through the turnstile and head off down another corridor.
Finally you reach the “no man’s land”. A supposed demilitarised zone between Israel and Gaza which is simply more land Israel has stolen from Palestinians and murders them if they attempt to enter. A metal corridor bisects that land, you continue to walk for 1–2km
At the other end you meet the entry point to Gaza.
No one comes through Erez without Israel’s permission
Israeli snipers man the walls, routinely murdering farmers, kids, anyone they feel like killing that day
In ’06, Senior Israeli advisor Dov Weisglass, said Israeli policy was “to put the Palestinians on a diet”. In ‘08 Israeli authorities drew up a document calculating the minimum caloric intake per Palestinian & restricted food entering Gaza to that limit
imeu.org/article/puttin…
Erez is not and has never been a symbol of hope or peace for Palestinians
It is the gateway to the prison Israel has built around them to control every aspect of their daily lives
END
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.