Dozens of Gaza students protest at Rafah crossing

Dozens of overseas students rallied on Wednesday at the Rafah crossing point against years of blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The protesters, led by Hamas, waved Palestinian flags and carried banners in both Arabic and English, calling on Egyptian authorities to reopen the crossing point.

They also carried coffins, on which such words as "international community silence," and "the Arab League graveyard" were written.

Wisam al-Qutati, one of the organizers, called on Egypt to permanently keep the Rafah crossing open to enable students and patients to travel from Gaza for education and medical care.

The Rafah crossing hasn't been opened on a regular basis since the ouster of Islamic President Mohamed Morsi in June 2013.

"The Gaza Strip is the biggest jail on earth. Israel on one hand imposes a tight siege on us and Egypt closes the crossing of Rafah for extended periods, depriving hundreds of students and patients of medical care and education," said Qutati.

Egypt temporarily and partially reopens the Rafah crossing once a month for two to three days to enable humanitarian cases to leave Gaza or enable stranded Gazans at Egypt borders to cross over.

"We will rally here and this protest will continue for the coming few days until Egypt responds to our demand to reopen the crossing point," said al-Qutati.

Sa'ed al-Mughari, a senior Hamas leader in Rafah, told the rally that reopening the crossing permanently will benefit the Strip as it is Gaza's sole gate to the outside world. Endit