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PNA, Egypt agree to facilitate opening Rafah border

Xinhua, November 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Fatah official said on Tuesday that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) reached a deal with Egypt to facilitate the opening of Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad told Xinhua that the agreement was made to open the crossing "to the maximum possible extent to allow entry for individuals and necessary goods to Gaza."

Al-Ahmad didn't state details of the agreement, but said it was signed during the last visit of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Ababs to Cairo last week.

He noted that the agreement includes measures to "ease the suffering of Gazans, particularly after the Egyptian actions taken in the Rafah area as a results of the military operations in northern Sinai."

He expressed hope that the agreement would be implemented soon, adding that a lasting solution to the crossing can only be made with ending the internal Palestinian division.

Al-Ahmad refused to comment on remarks by Hamas movement who controls the Gaza Strip, that it wasn't notified of the agreement, stating that the agreement is limited to the PNA presence.

Rafah crossing point is the only window to the outside world for Gaza Strip populations, after Israel imposed a tight blockade on the coastal enclave in 2007.

The crossing has been completely closed down since the ouster of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Endit