Ali al-Hayek, head of the Palestinian Businessmen Association, has called for necessarily lifting the Israeli ban on the entry of many raw materials and construction needs to the Gaza Strip on allegations they are dual-use goods.

In a press release, Hayek also stressed the need to end the UN-sponsored reconstruction mechanism in Gaza, known as “GRM,” saying such mechanism led to disastrous and destructive impacts on Gaza’s economy.

The GRM is a temporary agreement between the Palestinian Authority, Israel and the UN that went into effect after the 2014 aggression against Gaza. The GRM sets out procedures supposedly to enable the entry of essential construction materials to Gaza, which is under Israeli blockade.

However, it has failed to enable large-scale construction and reconstruction in the coastal enclave. Hayek underlined that the Gaza reconstruction mechanism (GRM) contributed to strengthening the siege on post-war Gaza, strangulating its economy and destroying the construction sector — the largest employer of workers — by restricting the entry of building materials needed to construct and reconstruct homes and infrastructure.

He also called for lifting Israel’s ban on the entry of more than 500 types of goods needed by the commercial and industrial sectors in Gaza.