Gazans protest Rafah border closure

Thursday July 19, 2007 15:14 by R. P. - International Middle East Media Center - IMEMC Editorial Group

About 2,000 Gazans gathered today at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt to protest its continued closure.

Rafah border terminal (archive)

Many of the protestors were family members who have been awaiting the return of their relatives from Egypt since the crossing was closed on June 9, when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian officials were also reportedly restricting access to Rafah and planning to impose an indefinite curfew, amid rumours of a plan by armed Palestinians to blow up a border wall in order to allow the passage of the thousands people waiting at the crossing.

The Palestinian Ministry of Information estimates that about 6,000 Palestinians are stranded on the Egyptian side of the crossing, with approximately another 30,000 waiting elsewhere in Egypt for the border to reopen.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that 25 Palestinians who had traveled to Egypt for medical treatment have died waiting at the crossing. Their bodies were recently returned to Gaza through special coordination with Israel.

Israel has proposed allowing the stranded Palestinians to re-enter the Gaza Strip through the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, which it controls. Egypt supports the plan, but Hamas has rejected it, stating that travelers must be allowed to cross at Rafah.

gaza strip | refugees/immigration | news report