Blockade of the Gaza Strip June 2008, Israel agreed to lift its blockade of Gaza Strip. At Egypt's request, Israel did not always respond to Palestinian cease fire violations by closing the border. Israel accused Hamas of transporting weapons into Gaza via tunnels to Egypt, failing to stop rocket attacks, and noted that Hamas would not continue negotiating the release of Israeli hostage Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas since 2006. Hamas' decision alienated it from the government of Egypt, which had linked the opening of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing with Shalit's release. In the early stage of the cease-fire, Israeli officials had
Biodiversity in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip Biodiversity in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip Biodiversity in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip is about the fauna and flora in the geographical region of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. This geographical area within the region of Palestine extends from the Jordan River and Wadi Araba in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea and the Sinai desert in the west, to Lebanon in the north, and to the gulf of Aqaba, or Eilat in the south. The area is part of the Palearctic ecozone, located in the Mediterranean Basin, whose climate supports