“open for exceptional cases”, which means the movement of international workers and limited number of authorized Palestinians including aid workers, medical workers, humanitarian cases, businessmen.159 The Land Buffer Zone Restrictions on access to land located close to the fence that surrounds the Gaza Strip started at the beginning of the second Intifada, in September 2000.160 Israel designated those areas as “access restricted area”, or “buffer zone”, which can be seen as a zoning mechanism through which Israel restricts the access of farmers – which constitute the majority of the inhabitants in this area161 – to their land. In most areas, the buffer zone covers land within 300 meters of the fence.162 According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of September 2014, all the land within 100 meters from the fence on Gaza’s side constitutes a military “no-go zone”, in which access is expressly prohibited; in the land ranging from 100 to 300 meters from the fence, Israel permits access on foot and for farmers only.163 However, all the area within 1000 meters from the fence – that is, even beyond the buffer zone itself – is considered a risk zone. 164 The land buffer zone affects up to 35% of Gaza’s agricultural land, 165 and, prior to 2012, Israel’s restrictions of access to land caused a loss of some 75,000 metric tons166 of agricultural produce, worth USD 50.2 million, per year.167 Specifically, Israel does not allow for the cultivation of plants or trees that can reach more than 80 cm, because they could allegedly be used as a natural hide-out.168 In addition, farmers do not know how to proceed with regards to accessing their own land, since the enforcement of restrictions of access to those areas is irregular: 159 The remainder of crossings between Gaza and Israel remain closed: Sufa’s crossing, since September 2008 (even though it was exceptionally opened from March to April 2011); Karni’s crossing, since June 2007; and Nahal Oz’s crossing, since January 2010. OCHA - Occupied Palestinian Territories, “Access and Movement (Gaza Crisis), September 2014.” 160 OCHA, Between the Fence and a Hardplace, 8. 161 BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians, A Handbook for Vulnerable Individuals and Communities, 79. 162 See OCHA, Between the Fence and a Hardplace, 8; OCHA - Occupied Palestinian Territories, Access Restricted Areas (ARA) in the Gaza Strip, 1. 163 OCHA - Occupied Palestinian Territories, “Access and Movement (Gaza Crisis), September 2014.” 164 Ibid. 165 OCHA - Occupied Palestinian Territories, Access Restricted Areas (ARA) in the Gaza Strip, 1. 166 1 metric ton = 1,000 kg. 167 OCHA - Occupied Palestinian Territories, Access Restricted Areas (ARA) in the Gaza Strip, 1. 168 BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians, A Handbook for Vulnerable Individuals and Communities, 79. 50