Egypt has decided to open the Rafah land crossing at its border with the Palestinian territory of Gaza Strip next week for two days, a Palestinian official confirmed on Sunday.

The border crossing will be open as of March 18 for two consecutive days for humanitarian cases, Mohamed Arafat, Palestinian representative at the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing, told Xinhua by phone.

Some 250 Palestinians, stranded in Egypt and about 3,000 in Gaza, most of them students and patients, are expected to cross the land terminal from both sides, said Arafat.

Egypt and Israel maintained the closure of their crossing points with Gaza in 2007 since Hamas seized control of the territory by force after defeating the rival Fatah troops under Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas demands the crossing to open but Egypt says it can not bypass a U.S.-brokered protocol that stipulates the deployment of European Union (EU) monitors and Palestinian president's forces on the crossing to be open.

The EU monitors and the Palestinian presidential guards withdrew from Rafah, the only land terminal bypass Israel, following the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007.

Egypt opened Rafah from time to time, particularly during the recent 22-day Israeli attacks on Gaza, for humanitarian cases.