Egypt to reopen Gaza crossing for 3 days

Rafah terminal, which connects the coastal enclave to Sinai, was shut down following a string of terror attacks

By AFP 18 January 2015, 2:28 pm

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Palestinians gather in front of the Rafah border crossing point between southern the Gaza Strip and Egypt to protest against the closure of the border. Many Palestinians who travel through Rafah are students heading to universities in Egypt or beyond, or people in need of medical treatment, January 16, 2015. (Photo credit: AFP/SAID KHATIB)

CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt will reopen the Rafah crossing with Gaza for three days starting Tuesday, for the third time since it was shut in late October after a deadly suicide bombing, security officials said.

The crossing, the only access point to the Palestinian Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel, was to be reopened last week, but the decision was postponed after an Egyptian police officer working at the terminal was kidnapped and killed.

The reopening of the crossing will allow Palestinians students who have been stranded on either side to travel through the frontier, a security official said.

The terminal was shut by Egypt after a deadly bombing in the Sinai Peninsula killed 30 soldiers in late October.

It was later reopened twice.

The Egyptian army has been battling an insurgency in the restive Sinai, which also borders Israel, ever since it overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, Egypt’s deadliest militant group, is based in the peninsula and has claimed several deadly attacks on security forces.

The group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq in November.