GAZANS STILL UNDER PRESSURE AS SECURITY TIGHT AT RAFAH BORDER CROSSING

Rafah, 7 Ramadhan 1434/15 July 2103 (MINA) – Egypt has temporarily reopened the Rafah border crossing to a limited number of travelers. This comes after the Egyptian army closed it for nearly a week after the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi.

According to Press TV report quoted by MINA, thousands of Gazan travelers are currently stranded on both sides of the Rafah crossing.

This comes as the Egyptian army has beefed up security along the border with the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing turmoil in the Sinai Peninsula.

Rafah is the sole pedestrian crossing not controlled by Tel-Aviv. Through this crossing the Gazans can connect with the outside world.

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Currently about two-hundred people are allowed to leave Gaza each day compared to nearly 15-hundred during the crossing’s normal operation in the past.

Gazans are not the only ones who are stranded. Foreigners form different nationalities were stuck in Gaza for many days. I asked a British citizen from the Welcome to Gaza Convoy how difficult it is for Gazans who want to travel. She had this to say.

After Morsi was elected as Egyptian president passenger travel at the Rafah crossing was eased.

But after his ouster restrictions along the border with the Gaza Strip started to increase.

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Even during the fasting month of Ramadan, the number of people who can leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing remains very limited. And many Gazans here partly blame the political unrest in Egypt for that. (T/P05/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)