Egypt : Egypt temporarily opens Rafah border crossing with Gaza
on 2015/3/9 17:13:18
Egypt

Click to see original Image in a new windowEgypt has temporarily opened a key border crossing with the Israeli-besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip for the first time in nearly two months.

The Rafah crossing, which is the only gateway out of the blockaded Palestinian territory, was opened on Monday for only two days to allow students, patients seeking medical attention as well as dual nationals to get through.

It was the first time the vital crossing for besieged Palestinians opened since an Egyptian court labeled the Hamas Islamic resistance movement, which administers the war-ravaged territory, as a “terrorist” organization.

The opening of the crossing, however, does not appear to signal a change in Cairo’s policy towards the Palestinians living in the impoverished Gaza and the Hamas resistance movement.

Cairo’s hostile policy towards Hamas and the Palestinians living in Gaza has been attributed to the movement’s alleged backing of Egypt’s first freely-elected president Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted in a military coup led by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt also accuses Hamas of supporting anti-Cairo militants.

Last October, Egypt sealed the border crossing after briefly reopening it, claiming security concerns. It has opened it intermittently since.

Following the ouster of Morsi, in July 2013, relations between the Egyptian government and Hamas have seriously deteriorated.

Egypt has stepped up the destruction of cross-border tunnels into Gaza since then. More than 1,600 tunnels have been demolished since the military-backed government came to power in Cairo last year.

Previous article - Next article Printer Friendly Page Send this Story to a Friend Create a PDF from the article


Other articles
2023/7/22 15:36:35 - Uncertainty looms as negotiations on the US-Kenya trade agreement proceeds without a timetable
2023/7/22 13:48:23 - 40 More Countries Want to Join BRICS, Says South Africa
2023/7/18 13:25:04 - South Africa’s Putin problem just got a lot more messy
2023/7/18 13:17:58 - Too Much Noise Over Russia’s Influence In Africa – OpEd
2023/7/18 11:15:08 - Lagos now most expensive state in Nigeria
2023/7/18 10:43:40 - Nigeria Customs Intercepts Arms, Ammunition From US
2023/7/17 16:07:56 - Minister Eli Cohen: Nairobi visit has regional and strategic importance
2023/7/17 16:01:56 - Ruto Outlines Roadmap for Africa to Rival First World Countries
2023/7/17 15:47:30 - African heads of state arrive in Kenya for key meeting
2023/7/12 15:51:54 - Kenya, Iran sign five MoUs as Ruto rolls out red carpet for Raisi
2023/7/12 15:46:35 - Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Gupta Travels to Kenya and Rwanda
2023/7/2 14:57:52 - We Will Protect Water Catchments
2023/7/2 14:53:49 - Kenya records slight improvement in global peace ranking
2023/7/2 13:33:37 - South Sudan, South Africa forge joint efforts for peace in Sudan
2023/7/2 12:08:02 - Tinubu Ready To Assume Leadership Role In Africa
2023/7/2 10:50:34 - CDP ranks Nigeria, others low in zero-emission race
2023/6/19 15:30:00 - South Africa's Ramaphosa tells Putin Ukraine war must end
2023/6/17 15:30:20 - World Bank approves Sh45bn for Kenya Urban Programme
2023/6/17 15:25:47 - Sudan's military govt rejects Kenyan President Ruto as chief peace negotiatorThe Sudanese military government of Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has rejected Kenyan President William Ruto's leadership of the "Troika on Sudan."
2023/6/17 15:21:15 - Kenya Sells Record 2.2m Tonnes of Carbon Credits to Saudi Firms

The comments are owned by the author. We aren't responsible for their content.