Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip. Following the takeover, Egypt and Israel largely sealed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah had fled and was no longer providing security on the Palestinian side.<ref name="nytimes.com/">Isabel Kershner. Abbas’s Premier Tells Israel to Reopen Gaza. New York Times. 14 December 2007.</ref> So Karni and Rafah checkpoints were closed again, resulting in "severe personal and economic hardship for Gaza's 1,4 million population", according to OCHA. Thousands of travelers have been stranded on both sides of the border. The blockade of the Gaza Strip has caused a shortage of certain basic products, especially construction
Israel–Gaza barrier the fence, as shown on the map, shall be authoritative only for the purpose of the Agreement" (i.e. the barrier does not necessarily constitute the border). The barrier was completed in 1996. From the Israeli perspective, the Israel–Gaza Strip barrier is a security barrier intended by Israel to control the movement of people between the Gaza Strip and Israel, to stop the entry of arms into the territory. It has significantly improved security in Israel. The Israel-Gaza Strip barrier has met with opposition and protests from some Palestinians. The barrier was largely torn down by Palestinians at the beginning of