CAIRO: Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing Wednesday a day after Israel issued an alert to its citizens in Sinai requesting them to return immediately.
However, later on in the day it reopened the crossing to wounded Palestinians and stated that it would remain open until Thursday as had been previously scheduled.
Israel had issued an advisory to Israeli tourists warning of a possible terrorist attack in Sinai and potential kidnapping of Israeli tourists.
It was also reported that on Wednesday Hamas had ordered the closure of the smuggling tunnels beneath the Egypt-Gaza border.
A source near the border told Daily News Egypt, “There is cooperation between Hamas and Egyptian security forces; there is a possibility that there might be worries about a different radical group that’s unaffiliated with Hamas.
An Israeli police spokesman told AFP that there was 650 Israeli tourists in Sinai, 430 of which returned after the Israeli government issued the alert.
At the Mubarak Peace Bridge that leads into North Sinai, body searches were being conducted at the checkpoints for all those entering.
Although officially closed, Egypt usually opens the Rafah crossing on Wednesdays and Thursdays to allow Palestinians seeking treatment to enter Egypt and those who have finished their medical treatment to return to Gaza.
Egypt did not give a reason for the initial closure of the crossing but it seems related to the security alert issued by Israel. What is unclear is why would Hamas order the closure of the tunnels on the same day. Another source in the area told Daily News Egypt that up until Tuesday night the tunnels were still working.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Hamas closed the tunnels after “an urgent request from Egyptian security services following warnings of planned terror attacks in the Sinai Peninsula.
The Israeli alert had warned that there were plans by a terrorist cell to kidnap an Israeli in Sinai and transport him into Gaza via one of the tunnels, hence the closure of the tunnels and the crossing.
A medical shipment organized by the Arab Doctors Union was to enter Gaza Wednesday but was prevented after the closure of the crossing.
