All Palestinians residing in Egypt have the unconditional and unrestricted right to visit the Gaza Strip, said North Sinai Governor Abdel Wahab al-Mabrouk on Monday after Egypt permanently opened its border crossing with the Hamas-ruled territory on Saturday. Mabrouk explained that travelers to and from the Gaza Strip had a ten-hour daily access to the border crossing from 8 am to 6 pm, with the exception of Saturdays. He told Al-Masry Al-Youm that men between the ages of 18 and 40 are required to obtain a visa before entering into Egypt. Regarding Israeli objections to the border opening, former Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Basyouni said, “Tel Aviv has no right to bind Egypt to the border crossing treaty signed on 15 November 2005 between the Palestinian Authority and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana as Egypt was not involved in this treaty.” Basyouni told Al-Masry Al-Youm, “The Israeli fears and its claim that the border crossing opening will allow terrorists to enter or leave, or will allow them to smuggle in weapons through the border, are baseless, as there is camera surveillance monitoring every move, as well as drones on the border monitoring the area.” Translated from the Arabic Edition
