(Communicated by the Coordinator for Government Activity in the Territories)
On Wednesday, November 11, 2009 the Coordinator for Government Activity in the Territories (CoGAT), through the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Office (DCL), facilitated a large transfer of educational supplies to the Gaza Strip for use in schools run by UNRWA. The shipment included copy machines, printers, and projectors which entered the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the morning hours. During the past month, a large quantity of educational tools such as notebooks, backpacks, writing tools, and textbooks have crossed from Israel to Gaza for use in schools run by UNRWA.
Furthermore, two special Braille printers were also transferred to complement the Braille-language keyboards whose transfer was also facilitated by CoGAT and the Gaza DCL during recent weeks. These specialized pedagogical tools will be transferred to UNRWA for use in special-needs education.
The commander of the Gaza DCL, Col. Moshe Levi, said "UNRWA is an important humanitarian aid organization in the Gaza Strip that operates many schools as part of its aid activities. Through CoGAT and the Gaza DCL, Israel makes great efforts to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Gaza Strip, and for this reason the recent transfer was facilitated at the request of the organization."
With regard to the special-needs educational services provided by the organization, Levi said, "This is another humanitarian case, just one of many handled by the soldiers and officers of the Gaza DCL. A large number of cases reach our doorstep and require special consideration, and we do our very best to understand the needs while providing the best and quickest response. This falls into the framework of the overall humanitarian efforts and occurs in accordance with the policies in effect in Gaza."