[4] The Karni Crossing was opened in 1994 after the signing of the Oslo Accords to allow Palestinian merchants to export and import goods.

Militant Palestinian factions have used the Karni Crossing to smuggle suicide bombers and explosive belts into Israel.

[5][6] In 2006, the Israeli authorities closed the crossing for over 100 days due to terror alerts and rocket fire.

Between September 2006 and June 2007, the crossing was open daily except for several brief closures due to Palestinian labour strikes.

In June 2007, the UNWRA coordinator commended the IDF on moving humanitarian shipments to the secondary Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossings, and hoped that Karni could be reopened as part of a longer-term solution.