Egypt will temporarily open its borders with Gaza Strip to allow Palestinians, stranded at both sides, to cross, a Palestinian official said on Monday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Rafah crossing point will be open for two days starting from Tuesday to allow Palestinians, who live and study outside but have been stuck in Gaza, to leave.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian news agency reported that Egypt will also open Rafah for a third day to allow those stuck in Egypt to go to Gaza.
Israel closed Rafah crossing since June 2006 when Palestinian militants kidnap an Israeli soldier from his base outside Gaza, but it allowed weekly opening of the crossings.
Rafah crossing was completely closed in June 2007 when Hamas routed security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and took over Gaza by force.
According to a U.S.-brokered deal in 2005, Abbas' presidential guard forces were in charge of security at the crossing in addition to European Union monitors. The two parties left the crossing following Hamas takeover of Gaza.
Hamas tries to reopen the crossing after Egypt succeeded to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic movement.
Sources from Hamas said that Egypt will invite representatives of Palestinian Authority (PA), EU monitors and Hamas to discuss mechanisms of reopening the passageway.
The sources added that the development in this issue was subject to the progress of the ceasefire deal which includes the lifting of Israeli siege on Gaza.
Source: Xinhua
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