Egypt keeps Rafah crossing open for a third day

Almost 2,000 people cross border, majority exiting Gaza Strip, in first two days that checkpoint opens since October

By AFP 23 December 2014, 4:59 pm

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Palestinians await permission to enter Egypt as they gather inside the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip on December 21, 2014. (photo credit: AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB)

Egypt kept its Rafah border crossing with Gaza open for a third day on Tuesday, state media said, after nearly 2,000 people used the terminal in the first two days.

The Rafah crossing, the only access point to the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel, opened on Sunday for only the second time in two months to allow people stranded in Egypt to enter the Palestinian enclave.

State news agency MENA said that 1,950 people had used the crossing since it was opened.

It said that 1,137 people came from Gaza and 813 went to the territory from Egypt on Sunday and Monday.

The United Nations said last month that more than 3,500 Palestinians had been stranded in Egypt since the crossing was closed following a suicide attack in North Sinai on October 24 that killed 30 soldiers.

Many Palestinians who travel through Rafah are students heading to universities in Egypt or beyond, or people in need of medical treatment.

During the first six months of the year, when the crossing was closed for a total of 22 days, an average of 6,400 people crossed each month, the UN said.