Israel reopened the Karni commercial crossing on the eastern Gaza border with Israel in both directions on Wednesday, local daily Ha'aretz said.

The move was carried out following a decision made by Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz overnight Tuesday, said the report.

Israel has kept the Karni closed much of the year out of repeated warnings of planned attacks by Palestinian militants.

The terminal was only opened briefly for transfer of goods from Israel into Gaza during the past few months.

Peretz's decision will allow goods to travel back and forth between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Earlier this month, some Palestinian farmers appealed to Israel 's High Court of Justice to reopen the Karni crossing to help ease the battered economy in the Gaza Strip, which Israel withdrew last summer.

The petitioners, who made the appeal through several rights groups in Israel, said that the closure of the crossing had caused a loss of more than 24 million U.S. dollars to the Palestinian economy.

Source: Xinhua