Hundreds of Palestinians cross reopened Gaza-Egypt border

Post-revolution move is hailed as 'first step towards breaking the siege', but Israel voices concerns

Egypt has opened its border with Gaza, letting Palestinians leave the blockaded territory, in a move seen as indicating a more supportive policy since February's revolution.

Hundreds of people laden with luggage gathered at the Rafah crossing in the south of Gaza before the border opened at 9am. Around 300 crossed in the first hours and officials said they expected up to 1,000 to leave Gaza by the end of the day. Women, children and men over the age of 40 will be permitted free travel from Gaza to Egypt, but men under 40 will be required to apply for and be granted a visa. A large proportion of Gaza's 1.5 million population is aged between 18 and 40.

The crossing will open for eight hours a day, six days a week. In the four years since Hamas took control of Gaza, 18 months after winning elections, and Israel imposed a stringent blockade, the Rafah border has opened intermittently and only students, businessmen and people needing medical treatment have been allowed through.

All other border crossings are with Israel, which has tightly controlled the movement of people and goods. Despite easing the blockade almost a year ago, Israel continues to proscribe certain goods, such as construction materials, from entering Gaza and blocks nearly all exports. Rafah will not be open to commercial traffic.

Israel's government has expressed concern that the reopening of the border will lead to the shipment of weapons and militants into Gaza and is also alarmed at the prospect of closer ties between the new Egyptian government and Gaza. Former president Hosni Mubarak, who was forced out in February's revolution, was seen as an ally of Israel. The new government last month brokered a reconciliation deal between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, including an agreement to open the border.

"People are happy Rafah is open, they say it's the first step towards break! ing the siege of Gaza," said local journalist Hazem Balousha. "They see it as a result of the Egyptian revolution and reconciliation."

Ghazi Hamed, the Hamas official who oversees the border from the Gaza side, said he hoped that 1,000 people would be able to cross each day. "We will co-operate with the Egyptian brothers to make sure the new arrangements get implemented smoothly and accurately," he said.

The numbers wanting to cross the border is expected to rise when the school year ends in around two weeks.


guardian.co.uk Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Son of star wars' base in Yorkshire finally ready to open

Peace campaigners slam secrecy over $10bn Menwith Hill project that puts UK in line of fire A "star wars" inspired defence shield that will alert the US to the launch of ballistic missiles is expected to be operational from a North Yorkshire airbase before the end of the year. The Space Based Infrared System is seen as the successor to Ronald Reagan's unrealised "star wars" programme, which would have detected Soviet missiles and shot them down using lasers. The new system, which has cost more than $10bn, has taken almost two decades to build and has been subject to numerous delays and cost overruns. The imminent completion of the project at the RAF Menwith Hill base near Harrogate has revived fears that space is in danger of becoming militarised, with Britain in the vanguard. "I find this disturbing to say the least," said a local Labour MP, Fabian Hamilton. "It's as if they are saying this is a place in the US and you are foreigners. But ha
Keep reading

Wisconsin governor prank called

Republican is duped by a caller pretending to be one of the rightwing Koch brothers, two of his wealthiest backers The Republican governor at the centre of the union-busting protests in the US has been embarrassed by a prank call that he believed was from one of his billionaire backers. On the recording of the call, which has been released online, the Republican governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker tells a caller impersonating one of the rightwing Koch brothers that he is looking forward to flying to California to celebrate with them once the battle with the unions was won, and jokes about taking a baseball bat to slug Democratic leaders. Walker is under siege in his office in the state capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin, in a backlash against his proposed legislation to remove unions' right to collective bargaining and cut public sector workers' pay. Ian Murphy, who calls in pretending to be David Koch, suggests planting troublemakers among the protesters, who have been peac
Keep reading

As China Rolls Ahead, Fear Follows

Image
As China Rolls Ahead, Fear Follows - China kept economy growing in past couple of years by printing money. Now it's feeling consequences. Inflation in consumer prices, speculative bubble in property. Milk dearer in Shanghai than in New York Agence France-Presse — Getty Images China is looking to restructure its economy away from dependence on exports like textiles. For nearly two years, China’s turbocharged economy has raced ahead with the aid of a huge government stimulus program and aggressive lending by state-run banks. But a growing number of economists now worry that China — the world’s fastest growing economy and a pillar of strength during the global financial crisis — could be stalled next year by soaring inflation, mounting government debt and asset bubbles. Two credit ratings agencies, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings , say China is still poised for growth, yet they have also recently warned about hidden risks in its banking system. Fitch even hinted at the
Keep reading