Getting Around Gaza Strip

4 more images

Erez checkpoint is the main crossing point for people between Gaza Strip and Israel. It is de-facto international crossing point in anything but name. It is probably the highest security tight crossing point in the world, as in the past, in was a target of attecks of Palestinian militants.

Photo One. Palestinians have a habit of calling Gaza Strip one big prison, and in many ways its true. The men in the picture sitting behind the barbed wire appear to give credence to the claim, but in fact, in this instance barbed wire was put in place by the Palestinian authorities.

Photo Two. Palestinian cabs waiting at the exit of Erez crossing point. Once you exit the corridor, the cab drivers pound on you like hawks on their prey, offering rides to places in Gaza.

Photo Three. Palestinian labourers returning from Israel for the night. There are very many of them, passing along the long (must be 1 km long) concrete corridor. All have work permits to work for the day in Israel, on the condition that in the evening they return home. With the outbreak of Al-Aqsa intifada in 2000, such permits were increasingly difficult to get.

Photo 5. Those Palestinians are lucky: they made through Erez checkpoint!