World

Egypt opens Gaza border for two days

March 23, 2018
A Palestinian woman reacts as she waits for a travel permit to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing after it was opened by Egyptian authorities for humanitarian cases, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Friday. — Reuters
A Palestinian woman reacts as she waits for a travel permit to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing after it was opened by Egyptian authorities for humanitarian cases, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Friday. — Reuters

GAZA CITY — Egypt opened its largely sealed border with the Gaza Strip on Friday for two days, Palestinian authorities said.

In just the third such opening this year, the crossing between the Palestinian enclave and Egypt’s Sinai region will be open on Friday and Saturday for humanitarian cases, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said.

The Rafah crossing is the only exit for Gaza residents except into Israel, but Egypt has largely sealed it in recent years, citing security threats.

Egyptian authorities have a poor relationship with Gaza’s rulers Hamas, whom they have accused of supporting attacks inside Egypt.

Both of the two previous border openings this year were cut short due to the security situation in Sinai.

The Egyptian army and police forces are engaged in a fierce conflict with militants, especially in the North Sinai governorate where an Egyptian affiliate of Daesh (the so-called IS) is active.

Hundreds have been killed on both sides.

For more than a decade, Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza that critics say amounts to collective punishment of the coastal territory’s two million Palestinian residents.

Israel says the blockade is necessary to isolate Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2008.

Egypt has also kept the Rafah crossing largely closed for several years.

In October, Egypt brokered a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, that was supposed to see Hamas give up power in Gaza.

But the deal has collapsed, with the two Palestinian groups trading blame. — AFP


March 23, 2018
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