CAIRO: The Rafah border crossing remained open Friday for Gazans, which meant the scheduled opening was extended to five days instead of the initially planned three. The decision to extend the opening was made due to the large number of Palestinians needing to be processed. However, Friday was the last day for the opening of the crossing that has been closed since June 2007. The border has been open since Monday to allow 1,200 stranded Palestinians to return to Gaza, as well as allow students, holders of foreign passports and patients to cross in the other direction. According to the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border (IMORB), which maintains a presence at the crossing, Israel bombed Rafah on Wednesday and two explosions were heard at the crossing. Additionally, some Palestinians were denied entry altogether and there were interminable delays, including for the Palestinian national football team that were held up but eventually allowed to pass through. On Wednesday, the border was opened for foreign passport holders accompanying children under the age of 16. Hamas interior ministry spokesman Ihab Al-Ghussein said last Monday "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. "We all must work to keep the Rafah border open everyday and for everybody. Let [us] continue to [put] pressure on our governments. Palestinians must have the right to freedom of movement and to live as the other human beings, IMORB said. "The Rafah border has to be a normal border between Palestine and Egypt [like] all other borders in the world, IMORB said. 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.
