CAIRO: Fifty-five Palestinian students from Gaza given prior permission to enter Egypt were detained at Al-Oja crossing by Israeli security forces, according to North Sinai Tagammu Party Secretary Alaa Al-Kashef.
The students were part of a 254-strong contingent finally granted permission to enter Egypt and embark on their studies, whether within the country or abroad. However, only 199 were allowed to pass through while the others were detained.
Al-Kashef told Daily News Egypt that eyewitnesses at Al-Oja confirmed the entrance of the students into Egyptian territory late on Sunday night. However, 55 of them were denied passage through the crossing.
A demonstration subsequently broke out with the detained students protesting the Israeli reversal after having allowed them to leave Gaza through the Erez crossing. Israeli soldiers fell on the protestors and clashes erupted.
“There was a demonstration on the other side of the border and the Israeli troops attacked the students. However there was no violence on the Egyptian side, Al-Kashef said.
Al-Oja crossing is the only pathway between Egypt and Israel since the Rafah border crossing – the only exit from Gaza directly into Egypt – was closed last June after Hamas took over the territory.
However, on Monday Egypt allowed Palestinian pilgrims embarking on hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) in Saudi Arabia to pass through the Rafah crossing into Gaza. This was the first time since the closure that Palestinians were allowed through the Rafah crossing.
According to the Associated Press, Hamas officials declared they had negotiated the border opening with the Egyptians, and Israeli officials also said they had coordinated the departure.
“Egypt…opened its heart and arms and allowed the opportunity to prove that the ties of nationalism, Arabism and Islam prevail, and allowed our pilgrims to pass through Egypt, deposed Palestinian prime minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said at a police graduation ceremony.
A further 1,500 pilgrims are expected to pass through Rafah on Tuesday, AP reported.
There are 6,400 Gazans who are either studying or working abroad who have been denied permission to leave, some of whom even possess foreign citizenship.
According to Al-Kashef, there are plans to allow more students from Gaza to enter Egypt through Al-Oja before the end of the week. However it is not clear whether the detained students will be included in this next group.
Daily News Egypt previously reported that some 670 students had been prohibited from leaving Gaza by Israeli authorities to pursue their studies in Egypt, Jordan, Germany and the UK. These students are enrolled in their programs and have been unable to attend.
Since June, the only way for entry and exit between Gaza and Egypt has been through Al-Oja into Israeli territory and then the Erez crossing into the Strip.
“Al-Oja is not a solution, because it is under Israeli control, activist and journalist Nada Kassass told Daily News Egypt, “and it is subject to their whim about when to allow and not allow Gazans to enter or exit. Also because if some of the Gazans are wanted by Israel, then Al-Oja is an impossible option.
That is why Kassass wants the Rafah crossing to be re-opened. “It is the only crossing under Egyptian and Palestinian control, with European monitors.
Many Palestinians need to enter Egypt to then travel through to other countries where they pursue their studies.
Around 6,000 Palestinians were stranded on the Egyptian side of the border when the Rafah border crossing was shut down in June. Eventually they were allowed back into Gaza through Al-Oja and Erez crossing over a period of two months.
