Egypt announces deal to reopen Rafah crossing, but when will it actually open?
Despite the fact that opening the Rafah crossing is an urgent humanitarian need for Gaza residents, it remains subject to political considerations associated with the quarreling factions: Hamas and Fatah.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Azzam al-Ahmad, member of Fatah’s Central Committee, said in a press statement on Nov. 18 that an agreement has been reached with Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing in the next few days for passengers and goods according to new arrangements. This raised questions among Hamas officials, as the movement controls the crossing and has repeatedly insisted it will not hand it over to the Palestinian Authority (PA) unless it is part of the crossing management.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities have kept the crossing almost totally closed since July 2013 given the security tension in the Sinai Peninsula, opening it only for a few short days to allow the passage of humanitarian cases. This was confirmed by the Ministry of Interior’s website, which reported that, since the beginning of 2015, it was open for only 19 days.
In this context, Kamel Abu Madi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza, stated through the ministry’s website Nov. 16 that 25,000 humanitarian cases waited in Gaza for the crossing to open.
In his statement, Ahmad said that the agreement entails giving travel priority to students, the sick and those working abroad who hold travel visas or residence permits issued by other countries. The travel of natives will be subject to "Egyptian considerations," in reference to the security situation in north Sinai, close to the border with the Gaza Strip.
