Rafah crossing to reopen temporarily for pilgrims

A senior Palestinian official announced on Saturday that the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border will be reopened on Sunday and Monday for pilgrims.

Nazmi Muhana, chief of the crossings authorities in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), said that an agreement to reopen the Rafah crossing for pilgrims and humanitarian cases was made between the PNA and Egypt.

After Israel pulled out from the Gaza Strip on Sept. 12, the Rafah crossing was shut down for security reasons.

As the only exit for Palestinians in Gaza to go abroad, the Rafah crossing plays a key role in the daily life of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the coastal strip.

Dozens of Palestinian patients who need urgent treatments and surgeries in Arab and foreign countries are still struck in the strip since the crossing was closed.

Meanwhile, there are also dozens of Palestinians, most of them patients and pilgrims, stranded at the Egyptian side of the crossing, waiting to cross into the strip.

Muhana said that negotiations with the Israeli side as well as the European Union to open the crossing permanently are continuing.

"Many essential outstanding issues have been resolved, but there are still some small points need to be agreed upon. Once we reach an agreement and resolve our disputes, the crossing would be opened," said Muhana.

Source: Xinhua