CAIRO: The Rafah border crossing opened Monday for the start of a three-day opening to allow stranded Palestinians in Egypt to return to Gaza as well as allow Palestinian students and those seeking treatment to pass in the other direction. According to Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Al-Ghussein, "8,131 people have registered and they hope to travel during the three days. The Egyptian authorities have promised to ease the procedures at the crossing to let as many travelers as possible to cross. However, it is expected that around 1,100 Palestinians will cross daily from Gaza into Egypt, bringing the total to 3,300 students studying abroad and holders of foreign passports or residence permits in other countries. Additionally, around 600 Gazans seeking medical treatment in Egypt will be allowed to enter over the course of the three days. On the other side, 1,200 Palestinians have been waiting for the crossing to reopen so they can return to Gaza. Security forces at the crossing have been increased and put on high alert in order to handle the extra flow of people wanting to use the crossing, the only non-Israeli controlled passage into Gaza. The Gaza strip has been subject to a complete closure of its border since June 2007 when Hamas wrestled control of the territory from political rivals Fatah and the Palestinian Authority it represents. In recent times, the Rafah crossing has generally been opened for three-day periods around once a month. Palestinians are not allowed to cross in either direction through the crossing outside the allotted times. International and local groups have been mobilized since the closure of Rafah in an effort to open the crossing permanently. The Rafah border crossing was also opened late last June for three days. A protest group at the border, the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border, characterized the previous opening as a "horrible mess. "Egyptian authorities deployed their anti-riot police and people had to wait hours under the sun. Many of them [were denied entry] without any reason, the group said.
