clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Egypt decides to open Rafah crossing for 3 days next week

December 15, 2017 at 2:19 pm

Palestinians hold banners demanding the permanent opening of the Rafah border crossing in Gaza City on 23 November 2017 [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency]

The Palestinian Crossing and Borders Authority in the Gaza Strip announced yesterday evening that the Egyptian authorities has decided to open the Rafah border crossing for three days in the coming week.

The official PA news agency quoted General Director of Palestinian Crossing and Borders Authority Nazmi Muhanna saying, “The Egyptian authorities have informed us that they intend to open the Rafah border crossing in the southern part of Gaza Strip, on both sides, for three days starting from Saturday and ending on Monday.”

The Egyptian authorities had announced its intention to open the crossing last month, but the security situation that resulted from the attack on the Al-Rawdah Mosque in the province of North Sinai, prevented this.

More than 30,000 Palestinians, mostly students, people seeking medical treatment, and humanitarian cases have registered with the Palestinian Ministry of Interior to travel, while thousands are stranded in Egypt, waiting for the crossing to open in order to return to the Gaza Strip.

The Rajah ground crossing is the Gaza Strip’s only outlet to the world and has been closed since March. It has been reopened intermittently, and has only opened for 18 days since the beginning of the year, as the Egyptian authorities have completely closed it since the summer of 2013.

Read: Palestinians locked in as Israel closes Gaza crossings