Egypt to reopen Rafah border crossing Monday for three days

Egypt will open the Rafah Border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Monday for three days in both directions, state-owned news agency MENA reported on Saturday.

The border crossing was opened twice in June “to allow stranded passengers to pass through and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid,” MENA quoted the Egyptian authorities.

During the last border opening, 1,158 Palestinians passed through into Gaza along with 82 trucks carrying construction materials.

A million and a half Palestinians in Gaza, who have lived under an Israeli siege since 2006, have been struggling to recover from destruction suffered during 50 days of Israeli military assaults in the summer of 2014.

Egyptian authorities have kept the Rafah crossing closed since October, following Islamist militant attacks in Egypt’s North Sinai which left over 30 security personnel dead.

Cairo has accused the Islamist movement Hamas, the de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip, of aiding militant groups in northern Sinai.

Hamas has repeatedly denied such accusations.

source:Ahram online