Ayoub Abu Shaar, the Palestinian director of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, said Hamas has totally banned individuals from passing through tunnels into Egypt, only allowing cargo through, in response to a request from the Egyptian government. “The tunnels have been closed for three weeks now, which has made the passage through the Rafah crossing easier,” Abu Shaar said, adding that there are now 600 Palestinians who cross everyday. He also said 15 percent of the Palestinians who use the crossing are forbidden from passing for reasons he does not know, and are returned. “The ratio was 35 percent before,” he said. He said that the Palestinian Foreign Ministry is negotiating with the Egyptian authorities to reduce the number of Palestinians barred from crossing. Translated from the Arabic Edition
