Israel eases import rules to expedite entry of needed goods

Reuters
·1 min read
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Israeli soldiers gather near Gaza Strip

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Economy Ministry on Friday said dozens of imported products would be exempt from inspection and other approvals to facilitate their entry into Israel and help to prevent shortages during the war with Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Importers, it said, will be exempt from producing a certificate of compliance with the conditions of the standards to which they are routinely obliged that typically allow for the release of a shipment from customs supervision.

However, the exemption from official approval does not exempt the importer from the obligation to comply with the requirements of the standard, but only from the obligation to produce a standard approval upon importation, it added.

The list of goods included in the exemption are those with a high import priority for release. It includes clothing, civilian protective equipment, emergency drinking water, storage containers, rechargeable and backup batteries, optical products and others. The ministry said it could add more items if needed.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer, Editing by Louise Heavens)