The Palestinian ministry of transport has just validated a law to control cars spares parts import in Gaza.
In fact, the high transport authority has just established some rules through an official order to end to smuggling and illicit import of spare parts. These new dispositions were made to support road safety policy of car parking turnover in Gaza.
This decision is facing “home-made” cars phenomenon in Gaza under the Israeli blockade over ten years. For geopolitical reasons, car concessionaires couldn’t import new cars and didn’t want to be in occupied territories, cars maintenance professionals in Gaza have found a way to reduce these impositions and have created vehicle workshops, however, the cars coming out of theses “factories” are made of recycled parts of damaged or illegally imported cars from Israel.
These home-made cars are not only expensive for consumers but also not convenient for road safety standards, that is why the new regulations have been made.
For a better control of vehicle marking, the ministry of transport has decided to import new cars and set specialized workshops to assemble them. Concerning the regulation of spare parts import, it is from now on forbidden to import heavy spare parts such as carcass, metal panels and passenger compartment only for some exceptions, anyone who would breach one of these laws will be suspended two months from work
Experts of reparation and used spare parts in Gaza objected these decisions; they believe it’s unfair to not allow them to work as they have always done, especially that in Jordan the government imports assembled cars.
In spite of this fact and as every economical and political decision, for some it is the right thing to do, it is the case of mechanics and engineers who believe that forbidding the illegal car manufacture warrant the conformity of cars in the roads and assure the citizen’s safety and finally to give an alternative way to afford a car. In fact, now a car would cost in between 4000$ and 8000$ that is to say five times less than before. In short, this was an important decision but not everybody liked it.
 

F.Z Maghelli

The pasionaria automotive news.