JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel allowed Palestinian flower growers to export 25,000 carnations for Valentine’s Day.
For the first time in more than a year, since Hamas took control of Gaza, Israel approved opening the Kerem Shalom crossing for export from Gaza. The approval came after a request from the Dutch government, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense’s Office of Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories.
The flowers, which left Gaza for Europe on Thursday, will arrive in time for Valentine’s Day on Saturday.
Farmers in Gaza were allowed to export their flowers until Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in July 2007.
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