“They told me Gazan livestock traders were not allowed to import donkeys. I was shocked. I still can’t import them; my [import] permit to enter Israel expired, and I can’t renew it to date without any obvious reasons,” Alnadi said while feeding cows. He trades cows, sheep and donkeys he imports from Israel to sell them in Gaza. He said Gaza imported 500 donkeys last year.

According to local traders, the ban went into effect in December 2021 after an Israeli nongovernmental organization claimed that donkeys were transported from Israel to Gaza to China through Egypt to benefit the skin and meat industries.

There has been no official announcement of the ban, however, it seems to be an ongoing practice as traders are still unable to import donkeys.

Gaza’s Agriculture Ministry knew about the ban from the media last month, according to Fayez Alshaikh, head of the ministry’s media and public relations.

“All those claims are baseless. We don’t slaughter donkeys in Gaza. We import for the local market. Their prices now are significantly increased,” Alnadi added.

Palestinian men and children ride a donkey cart in Gaza City on September 24, 2014. A new UN-brokered deal has set the stage for private companies to help rebuild Gaza after a seven-week conflict between Israel and Hamas that left 100,000 people with nowhere to live. Until now Israel’s eight-year blockade of Gaza has meant that few building materials are flowing into the Palestinian territory, making reconstruction a near-impossible task. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/11/israel-bans-gaza-importing-donkeys#ixzz7mI6Dnyvr