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Rafah crossing to open for 3 days early next week

A bus, with passengers, crosses the Rafah Border to Egypt after going through passport controls in Rafah, Gaza on August 16, 2017. Egypt decided to open Rafah Border Gate for only 2 days in both directions. Mustafa Hassona - Anadolu Agency )

A bus enters the Rafah border to Egypt on 16 August 2017 [Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency]

Head of the Civil Affairs Committee, Husein Al Sheikh, announced yesterday that the Rafah crossing will be open in both directions for three days early next week.

According to WAFA news agency, Al-Sheikh said: “The Egyptian side has informed us that the crossing will be opened Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, this month on both sides.”

The Egyptian authorities opened the crossing last weekend in both directions in order to allow humanitarian cases to travel and allow those trapped on either side to return to their homes.

Earlier this month, the national reconciliation government handed over the Gaza Strip crossings to the Palestinian Authority in accordance with reconciliation agreements between Fatah and Hamas.

The Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing for 308 days this year, opening it for only 17. It said this was due to the unstable security situation in Sinai and reparations inside the crossing.

Read: Report: Israel allocated just 8.5% of Jerusalem for Palestinian development

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