CAIRO: The Rafah border crossing was opened Saturday and Sunday, allowing for the transport of stranded Palestinians as well as aid supplies to the Gaza strip.
The MENA news agency reported that around 520 tons of supplies were transported to Gaza Sunday, donated by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Organization for the Islamic Conference. The supplies included biscuits for Gaza’s children.
“Crossings have been authorized in both directions for humanitarian reasons following a decision by the Egyptian and Hamas authorities, a Hamas security official told AFP.
About 1,200 Palestinians crossed to and from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
They were either patients seeking medical treatment or had finished treatment in Egypt, students pursuing studies abroad or Palestinians with residency in other countries.
Palestinian factions are currently in Cairo for further talks on reaching an agreement towards forming a unified government.
A source at the border told Daily News Egypt that the crossing is often opened for the duration of the Hamas delegation’s stay in Egypt.
According to the source, a representative from the Hamas delegation will return to Gaza to confer with senior Hamas officials there and come back to Cairo for further consultations.
A Palestinian Authority official said in Cairo Sunday that Egypt intends to keep the Rafah border crossing open on a permanent basis if the Palestinian factions manage to reach an agreement.
Head of the Fatah parliamentary bloc Azzam Al-Ahmed told reporters that Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman had promised the factions the continued opening of the crossing if they reach an agreement.
The Rafah crossing is the only entryway into Gaza not under the direct control of Israel. For his part Suleiman said on Saturday that he intended to arbitrate an agreement between the factions by July at the latest.
