Egypt

Rafah crossing re-opened after closure for constuction work

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was re-opened on Saturday despite ongoing construction work on the eastern side.

An official source said on Saturday that movement through the crossing had been resumed, but transit is by foot only because the construction work impedes the entry of cars.

When the Egyptian side had unexpectedly closed the border that morning, hundreds of Palestinians stormed the crossing, forcing their way through until arriving at the gate leading to Egypt.

Hamas said the incident was a result of crowding, as hundreds of Palestinians wanted to pass through.

An official source denied that the closure was caused by political reasons.

Egypt opened the crossing permanently the previous Saturday, and 4576 people crossed during the week. The number of people coming from Gaza was 2600, and those going to the strip reached 1976.

Translated from the Arabic Edition

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