The border between Gaza and Egypt is open, but this is not the whole of the Palestinian issue, writes Erica Silverman in Gaza Eager brigades of young men raced luggage carts past a brightly-coloured banner reading, "Rafah crossing -- the path to freedom," to greet busloads of passengers making their way through the heavily-guarded iron gates of Rafah terminal, crossing a Palestinian-controlled border for their first time. Speaking on 25 November at a spirited ceremony for the opening of the Rafah crossing, located along the shared Egyptian border, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced, "The beginning of the rain is a drop. The first drop was the departure of the settlers, the second was the departure of the [Israeli] army, and today is the third drop, which is the key to Egypt and to the whole world." Addressing the crowd of 1200 Palestinians, European diplomats, and Egyptian officials, EU Ambassador Marc Otte stated, "This is a first step on a long path to statehood and we want to walk together." As the key turned the following day, over 1500 Palestinians transited between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in only fours hours. Palestinian students, healthcare patients and travellers traversed a chaotic crowd to register their passports to make their way into Egypt and on to their final destinations. The newly-adopted procedures went smoothly under the watchful eye of a mix of well- trained Palestinian Authority security officers and border patrols. Palestinians with valid identification cards are now free to move through Rafah. The thousands without ID cards, and males between 18 and 40 years of age, have to coordinate their crossing in advance, although males admitted to Egyptian universities or travelling with family members are permitted to pass. All foreign nationals, including Egyptians, must use the Israeli- operated crossing at Kerem Shalom, which remains closed. Senior factional leaders such as Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas were in attendance for the opening of the terminal. "We will follow these procedures [cameras and operations rooms] to ensure they will not affect movement of Palestinians across the border or present a threat," stated Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zohri standing outside the terminal. President Abbas called on Palestinian officials and citizens to take responsibility for ending the security crisis -- the drug- trafficking, stolen cars and weapons trade -- warning without stability there will be no investment. The "law and order campaign," the same security operation that was launched in the West Bank, began this week in Gaza. Vehicles travelling along the major coastal thoroughfare are now stopped and checked by a combined security force. Passengers on their way to Rafah seemed pleasantly surprised by the check. PA officers stationed at Rafah reported problems of crowding on the Egyptian side of the terminal. EU commanding officer, Italian Major General Pietro Pistolese met with Egyptian officials on Sunday morning to ensure better coordination between the Palestinian and Egyptian sides, especially to facilitate travel for non-ID holding Palestinians, stated EU spokesperson for the Rafah mission, Julio De LaGuardia. In the coming days, hours of terminal operation will increase from five to 10 per day, with the goal being 24 hours in the future. There are 15 EU observers physically present at the terminal, and after the arrival of Portuguese national republic guards, 15 Spanish police and 10 French officers, a team of 70 will be in place by month's end, including German, Lithuanian, British and Swedish officials. The EU Border Assistance Mission (BAM) includes police officers and customs officials from member nations to supervise border control (issuing reports at 30-minute intervals), and to engage in "capacity building" for Palestinian officials and the operation of their border, according to head of the EU police unit, Stephan Feller from the General Secretariat in Brussels. A compound to house the mission is being constructed at the terminal and Major General Pistolese will maintain an office in Gaza City. A joint liaison office is located at Kerem Shalom where two Palestinian officials, two Israeli officials, and two EU observers are stationed in the same room, to which live camera images are delivered and all database information is accessible, according to spokesperson De LaGuardia. Disputes will be mediated at this office, including those over who may cross, with a consultation period of up to six hours. "The process will go up the chain of command, but in the end the Palestinian Authority (PA) has the final say," stated De LaGuardia. The opening of the terminal is the first step in the implementation of the recently-signed "Agreement on Movement and Access" between the PA and Israel. United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brokered the agreement that will yield Palestinians freedom to travel abroad through Rafah, Gaza's only passenger crossing. Exports will be permitted to move through the terminal, although all imports will enter through Kerem Shalom. Other terms of the agreement include transit between Gaza and the separated West Bank via a bus convoy system beginning 15 December, and that commercial trucks of exports will be allowed to exit through Karni, Gaza's only commercial crossing into Israel. Terms are in place to begin construction of the Gaza seaport, and there is no agreement regarding the airport. As of today, neither exports nor vehicles can move through Rafah, and there is no opening date set for Kerem Shalom. As long as the Paris Protocol, signed in 1994 in conjunction with the Oslo Agreement, is implemented, all goods crossing the Rafah border will enter through Kerem Shalom. The protocol stipulates the amount and types of imports allowed, prohibiting the importation of aggregates and raw materials; hence you will not find a juice factory in Gaza, only imported juice bottles, usually from Israel. "The faucet must be opened," stated a board member of the Palestinian Businessmen's Association, otherwise the Palestinian economy will not improve, even if imports are permitted to move through Rafah. One of the significant achievements of the agreement on movement and access is the third party presence -- the EU -- at the terminal to oversee its implementation, according to Abbas advisor Diana Buttu. This was a key element missing from the Oslo Agreement, letting Israel proceed unaccountable. The holistic perspective of the agreement is also significant, since it addresses the safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza, and internal closures in the West Bank. The agreement was not signed by both parties. It is a framework of principles, Buttu explains. Although there is an understanding between the parties that Karni will only close for specific security threats, there is nothing legally binding to prevent Israeli officials from closing the crossing for reasons of general concern. The agreement signifies recognition by the Bush administration, the World Bank, and the Quartet, nonetheless, that the Israeli closure policy has been strangling the Palestinian economy. However, addressing the issues of politics through economics is dangerous, warns Buttu. Focusing on access may improve the Palestinian economy without addressing the real issue of occupation. The handover of the Rafah crossing may provide a channel for economic opportunity and for peace, but whether it is a step toward ending the Israeli occupation is questionable.
