Rafah crossing opened for 125 days during 2014

The border crossings authority in Gaza said the Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah crossing for 125 days during in 2014.

In a statement the authority said that the Rafah crossing was closed for a period of 241 days or 66 per cent of the past year.

The authority said the Egyptian authorities closed the crossing for large periods, including 51 consecutive days during the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The authority pointed out that the supporters and delegations’ movements to the Gaza Strip decreased significantly during 2014 compared to previous years, noting that the number of activists and foreign delegations who visited the enclave reached 498 supporters in 2014 compared to 3,666 supporters in 2013.

The authority appealed to the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah crossing permanently in order to enable nearly the 30,000 Palestinians who registered to travel to leave the enclave.

Since the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, Egyptian authorities have closed the Rafah crossing, the main outlet between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, almost fully and open it only for humanitarian cases.