Just one week after it was permanently opened for Palestinians, the Rafah Crossing closed its doors, reports Doaa El-Bey Egypt announced last month that it would open its only crossing with the Gaza Strip by the end of the month. Hundreds of Palestinians passed through it, both ways, during the first four days. The move was hailed as an indication of the more independent- minded foreign policy adopted by Egypt's new rulers and was expected to ease the Israeli-imposed four-year blockade on the Hamas-ruled Strip. However, the decision was reversed when Egypt abruptly closed the crossing on Saturday without prior coordination with the Palestinian side. It claimed that the crossing was closed for renovation that was supposed to finish on Friday, the only day of the week that the crossing was scheduled to be closed according to the Egyptian plan. Palestinians travelling to Egypt stormed a gate at the border crossing on Saturday after waiting for hours in buses. They were later allowed to cross on foot. Vehicles were not allowed because of the renovation work. A day later, Hamas closed the crossing from its side in protest at Egypt's abrupt closure. The director of the crossing, Ayoub Abu Shaar, was quoted by the Palestinian media as saying there were disagreements between the two sides concerning the capacity and coordination of the crossing. Abu Shaar said Rafah would not be reopened until officials from both sides came to an agreement on its operation. Egyptian officials did not comment on the closure. Neither Egypt nor Hamas gave any explanation why the border crossing was opened permanently before prior agreement was reached on all pertinent issues. The closure of the crossing has received relatively scant coverage from the media. The first sign of disagreement came five days after the opening when Egyptian authorities imposed restrictions. Only two buses crossed from Egypt to Gaza that day. Disagreement between Hamas and Egypt came to the surface over the number of travellers to be permitted to cross every day and the criteria under which people can gain entry visas, whether to Gaza or Egypt. Egypt also barred certain Palestinians from entering due to "security concerns". The Palestinians are on an Egyptian blacklist that comprises 5,000 names that have criminal records or are linked to smuggling tunnels. Hamas claimed that most of those on the blacklist do not have security problems with Egypt. Mahmoud Khalaf, a strategic expert at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies, said Egypt has the right to take strategic measures to protect its security without prior consultation with other parties. The Rafah Crossing, Khalaf said, is like Cairo Airport or any other air, sea or ground port in Egypt. It is open with restrictions that protect the state's sovereignty. "We cannot open the borders without any restrictions," Khalaf told Al-Ahram Weekly. The quick Egyptian backtrack was ascribed by some parties to Israeli-American interference out of concern that unrestricted access could mean the entry into Gaza of weapons and military personnel intended to strengthen Hamas. Khalaf, though, ruled this theory out. He said that by not taking serious steps towards inter-Palestinian reconciliation, Hamas would give Israel an excuse to interfere in Gaza, keep the blockade and circumvent peace talks. According to an agreement signed in November 2005, Israel handed over the Rafah Crossing to the Palestinian Authority monitored by EU observers. Egypt was also responsible for monitoring the crossing from its side of the border. When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2006, EU monitors suspended their mission and Egypt closed its side of the borders. Israel imposed a tight blockade on Gaza ever since, subjecting its inhabitants to difficult humanitarian conditions. It did not heed calls by the UN and other organisations to lift that blockade. Gazans have circumvented the blockade by operating hundreds of smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. The tunnels have been used to bring in all kinds of products as well as people. The decision to permanently open the crossing gives Gaza residents a way to freely enter and exit their territory for the first time since 2007. The decision to reopen the crossing was taken by Egypt's post- revolution Foreign Minister Nabil El-Arabi. He described the decision to close the crossing four years ago as a "disgusting matter" and promised in an interview with a satellite channel in April that the closure of the crossing was about to end. Egypt's decision to permanently reopen Rafah came more than three months after former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak resigned following 18 days of massive street protests against his rule.
