RAFAH CROSSING CLOSES AFTER WEEK OPEN

Gaza, 3 Ramadan 1436/June 20, 2015 (MINA) – The Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing into and out of Gaza Friday after a week of being opened.

The head of the department of crossings and borders in Gaza, Maher Abu Sabha, said that he is hopeful the crossing will be reopened again next week, adding that there remain 12,000 Palestinians registered to travel.

On Friday, 450 people departed Gaza through the crossing and 88 others entered, while 10 were denied entry with no reasons specified, Ma’an News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Although the crossing was initially opened last Saturday for a planned three days, following requests from the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptians agreed to keep it open a full week, the longest period of time it has been opened this year.

In recent years, the Egyptian authorities have only rarely opened the Rafah crossing — Gaza’s only connection to the outside world.

Before the most recent opening, there were some 15,000 Gazans registered at the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior waiting to travel via Rafah, including 3,000 patients and more than 2,500 students.

The number is a fraction of the 1.8 million residents who have remained under the Israeli-imposed blockade since 2007, struggling to meet their basic needs due to restrictions on goods coming in and out of the coastal enclave.

Egypt has largely upheld Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip, and the Rafah crossing has been all but sealed since October 2014.(T/P008/R04)

Mi’raj Islmic News Agency (MINA)