CAIRO: The Egyptian government on Saturday re-opened the tense border crossing with the Gaza Strip after it had been nearly continuously closed since militants attacked a border outpost on August 5, killing 16 Egyptian soldiers and wounding 7 others. The official MENA news agency reported that the Rafah Border Crossing had officially been opened and would remain open for Palestinians to cross for 6 days weekly, as it had been before the attack. Only a handful of Palestinians have been allowed through the border since the early August attack as Egypt continues military operations in the Sinai Peninsula against suspected militants in the areas near the Gaza and Israel borders. Security said last Saturday an attack took place when police were returning to the city of al-Arish after arresting two suspects in the border town of Rafah. “The forces were entrapped by extremists when they were returning from a raid in Rafah ... one armored vehicle was targeted by a rocket," a source told Reuters news agency.
