Abbas to visit border with Egypt

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is to visit the Rafah crossing on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt later on Thursday as thousands of Palestinians scrambled into Egypt after Israel's withdrawal from the strip.

The Palestinian Interior Ministry said in a statement that Abbas would tour the Rafah crossing later in the day to inspect the situation there and consider how to operate the crossing jointly with Egypt in the future.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Minister of Communication and Technology Sabri Saydam, who is in charge of the Rafah crossing, reiterated that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will run the Rafah crossing in cooperation with Egypt even if Israel does not agree.

He warned that the PNA will never accept any Israeli military presence at the crossing.

Israel had proposed to close the Rafah crossing and open Kerem Shalom crossing, which is located in a triangle area bordering Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip. The PNA rejected it.

Source: Xinhua