Egypt opens Rafah border crossing permanently

Egypt opens Rafah border crossing permanently

2011-05-29 00:03:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

GAZA (BNO NEWS) -- Egyptian authorities on Saturday opened the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt after four years of closure.

Palestine News & Info Agency reported that the crossing will be opened on a daily basis for eight hours, except on Fridays and national holidays. Rafah had been closed since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after ousting the Palestinian Authority forces.

Palestinian men under the age of 18 and above 40 as well as students and women of all ages will not be required a visa to cross the Rafah border. Due to the blockade, tunnels have been used to smuggle goods into the region.

The Rafah border crossing is the only way in and out of Gaza which does not pass through Israeli soil. In February, Egypt opened the crossing to allow limited passage in both directions. The border access was closed during the January unrest in the North African country.

Egypt's ruling council said that the permanent opening of the crossing is part of the efforts to achieve national reconciliation as remarked in the recent unity deal signed by all Palestinian factions in Cairo.

The Israeli government welcomed the reopening of the crossing as it supports the transit of goods in and out of the Gaza Strip. The Jewish nation remarked that it is focused on disrupting arms trafficking and other support to Hamas.

Ghazi Hamad, director of the border crossing in the Hamas government in Gaza, told reporters today that weapon smuggling will not be allowed, Palestine News Network reported. Meanwhile, the Egyptian government said that Israel has no right to interfere, adding that the Israel siege that is "suffocating" 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza is illegal.

Last year, Egyptian authorities decided to open the Rafah border crossing to Gaza following the attack on a Pro-Gaza aid flotilla by the Israeli navy to allow humanitarian and medical aid as well as receiving patients in need of urgent medical attention.

The crossing opening was decided in part due to the pressure by Arabs and Palestinians to end the three-year blockade imposed by Israel after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

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