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| Africa North |
| Week-long opening of Egypt-Gaza border crossing comes to an end |
| 2015-06-21 |
| [AlAhram] Gazoo's only gateway to the outside world not controlled by Israel, Rafah has been largely closed for two years with Cairo citing security concerns Egyptian authorities closed late Friday Rafah Crossing after it was open in both directions for a week, the border crossing authority in Gazoo told AFP. Paleostinian border official Maher Abu Sabha reported in a statement that, "3,819 citizens were able to travel from Gazoo through the crossing during the week and that 1,012 stranded passengers arrived in Gazoo." Abu Sabha added there are "12,000 citizens registered on the lists of the interior ministry in Gazoo still waiting for their turn to travel," expressing hope that the crossing would "re-open in both directions permanently" to end the suffering of Gazoo citizens. This was the first time that the crossing, which is the only way not controlled by Israel for Paleostinians to move in and out of Gazoo, has been opened for people travelling in both directions since March. Gazoo, with a population of over 1.5 million, has been under Israeli blockade since 2007 following the victory of the Islamist Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in legislative elections in the occupied Paleostinian territories in 2006. Egypt has kept Rafah Crossing closed to Paleostinians for most of the past two years, citing security concerns. Cairo has repeatedly accused Hamas, the de facto rulers of the Gazoo Strip, of involvement in terrorist activities in the Sinai Peninsula. Hamas leaders have distanced themselves from Islamist hard boy attacks in Egypt, insisting that they have no armed presence outside Paleostinian areas. In 2014, the Egyptian army also created a wide buffer zone along the border with Gazoo aimed at preventing infiltration by hard boys. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |