Egypt reopens Rafah crossing Sunday

Egyptian officials say Cairo is due to reopen the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip for a short period of time.

The crossing was closed by Egypt in late October after a deadly bomb attack in the restive Sinai Peninsula and briefly reopened it at the end of last month to allow Palestinians stranded in Egypt to return home.

According to Egyptian police official, Ali al-Azazi, a similar measure will be taken only for two days, starting from Sunday.

“Egypt will open the Rafah crossing Sunday and Monday to allow those stranded on the Egyptian side to go to Gaza,” he said.

The UN said in November that over 3,500 Palestinians were stuck when Egypt closed the crossing after an attack left 30 soldiers in North Sinai dead on October 24.

Many Palestinian students use Rafah to head to universities in Egypt or beyond. Patients who require medical treatment not available in Gaza also travel through the border crossing.

The crossing is Gaza’s sole gateway to the outside world as many people in the Palestinian territory avoid traveling through the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing in the northern part of the besieged enclave.

Gaza has been under Israel’s blockade since June 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standards of living and poverty in the coastal enclave.