Karni Crossing

   A cargo terminal on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Located at the eastern end of the Gaza Strip, it was built in late 1993 to allow Palestinian merchants to export and import goods. The Karni Crossing was also used by the residents of the Netzarim settlement because the Karni road was the only route on which settlers were permitted to travel. During the Al-Aksa intifada, the Karni terminal was targeted for terrorist attacks several times. Since Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the Karni Crossing was used primarily for back-to-back transfers, in which merchandise and produce for the Israeli market must be removed from a Palestinian truck and placed in an Israeli truck and vice versa, for goods being imported into the Gaza Strip. It was periodically closed by Israel for security reasons.

   See also Suicide Bombings.