GAZA CITY (AA) – The Gaza Strip government on Monday confirmed that Egyptian authorities planned to reopen the Rafah border crossing linking Gaza to Egypt for five days starting Tuesday.
"The border crossing will reopen to allow medical patients, those residing in other countries, Palestinians bearing foreign nationalities, and Palestinians studying in other countries to leave [the strip]," Maher Abu Sabha, head of Gaza's Border Authority, told Anadolu Agency.
According to a statement by Gaza's Interior Ministry, the Egyptian decision came following contacts between Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and several Egyptian government officials.
Egyptian authorities closed the border crossing last Saturday after reopening it for a three-day period to allow Palestinian pilgrims to depart the embattled strip for Saudi Arabia.
Egyptian authorities have tightened control over the border with Gaza since the army's July 3 ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi.
The Egyptian military has also launched a wide-ranging campaign to destroy a network of underground tunnels linking Gaza to the Sinai Peninsula used for smuggling badly-needed commodities from Egypt into the coastal enclave.
By Yasser al-Bana – Anadolu Agency
englishnews@aa.com.tr
