In response to growing international pressure, Israel announced it was easing the blockade on the Gaza Strip after four years in which only a trickle of basic foodstuffs, fuel, medicine and other items were allowed. The Israeli defence ministry published an 11-page booklet which for the first time set out a list of controlled items that would continue to be banned. These include weapons and war material, including problematic dual-use items including carbon fabric tape, chopped glass fibres, gas tanks, drilling equipment and epoxy resins. In an attempt to prevent Hamas from building bunkers and other military facilities, Israel will allow cement and other construction material for internationally-funded and supervised projects approved by the Palestinian Authority. Under the Oslo Peace Accords, Israel controls all goods access to the Gaza Strip, including land, sea and air passages. Egypt, which controls a land crossing into Gaza at Rafah, enforces a strict ban on goods from its territory.
