Off the wire
• Former Chinese university admission official on trial for bribe-taking  • Israeli army blows up home of Palestinian convicted for killing 2 Israelis  • Pakistan denies reports about firing on Afghan Taliban leader  • Weather information for Asia-Pacific cities  • Chinese integrated circuit industry expands despite slowdown  • Tugging rituals added to UNESCO list  • Iran "sure" nuclear PMD case to be closed by IAEA: nuclear chief  • China-invested cement plant inaugurated in Laos to serve China-Laos railway construction  • More Beijing smog predicted this month  • Japan's Foreign Ministry slammed for denying entry of Chinese relatives of Unit 731 victims  
You are here: 　 Home

Egypt reopens key Rafah crossing for 2 days, 1st time in 3 months

Xinhua, December 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

For the first time in three months, Egyptian authorities on Thursday temporarily reopened the key Rafah crossing along its borders with the southern Gaza Strip, state-run MENA news agency reported.

The terminal will remain open for two days, Thursday and Friday.

The Gaza-based Hamas-run crossings and borders corporation said in an emailed press statement that the Rafah crossing point will operate in both directions.

"Those who will be allowed through the crossing are those obliged to travel such as pre-registered students, patients, and citizens holding dual nationalities," said the statement.

Hamas is currently not on good terms with the current Egyptian leadership, as they are close allies of Morsi and his organization.

Since the downfall of Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, the Egyptian government partly reopened the Rafah crossing, only allowing through humanitarian cases, medical patients, students from foreign countries as well as holders of foreign visas and passports.

In 2015, the crossing has been opened for only 19 days, according to Palestinian official statistics.

The crossing represents the sole outlet for some 1.8 million Palestinians into the outside world.

Hundreds of Palestinians who must travel abroad via Egypt, gathered Thursday at the crossing awaiting its opening.

Gaza shares two other crossings with Israel. However, they are under strict control since the Hamas movement's violent takeover of the seaside enclave in 2007.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Committee for defying the blockade and reconstruction of Gaza declared in a statement that reopening the Rafah crossing for two days only "fails to meet the populations' need for free movement."

Committee spokesman, Adham Abu Selmeya, said it is vital to keep the Rafah crossing permanently open to end the suffering of the Gazans who have been living under the Israeli blockade for the past eight years. Endit