Egypt to open Rafah border crossing

Palestinian doctors demonstrate in front of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on April 27, 2011demanding the end of the siege by Israel on the Gaza Strip and the opening of the Rafah crossing. (File photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/177238.html

Egypt is preparing to permanently open the Rafah border crossing in a move that would allow people and goods to enter and exit the Gaza Strip.

Reports say Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi said in an interview with Al-Jazeera on Thursday that the crossing will be opened within ten days.

Al-Arabi stated that the move is aimed at easing the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and at alleviating the “blockade and suffering of the Palestinian people.”

Over 1.5 million people in the coastal strip have been living under an Israeli siege since June 2007.

The plan indicates a change in policy following Egypt's recent uprising which ousted the longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Meanwhile, a deal has been reached for a unity government between the Palestinian factions of Hamas and Fatah after negotiations were held in the Cairo. Fatah has presided over the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 2007.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since the former won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006.