Rafah terminal temporarily opened
Crossing between Gaza, Egypt opens for two days to allow passage of students, patients, some 650 devout Muslim en route to pilgrimage
The Rafah crossing between the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and Egypt was opened on Saturday to allow hundreds of Muslim pilgrims to leave the besieged territory, Palestinian officials said.
Hamas' Interior Ministry said that 3,000 Gazans have applied for passage into Egypt. Those who have been granted permits are currently confined to a building near Rafah. Gaza police have set up roadblocks to prevent unauthorized citizens from storming the crossing.
Hamas wants to see the crossing open regularly, even for those without special permits. However Egypt is adamant about tying Rafah's status to the negotiations to free Israeli solider Gilad Shalit.
The Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza said around 650 people would depart on their way to Saudi Arabia for the omra or minor pilgrimage, along with an unspecified number of medical patients, university students, and holders of foreign passports.
The crossing was to remain open for two full days. Rafah is to be open on Saturday and Sunday. Ehab
Ghussen of the Hamas Interior Ministry says some 3,000 Gazan have registered for departure during the two days. Among those trying to get out are Gaza students accepted at foreign universities and medical patients seeking treatment abroad.
The Rafah terminal is usually closed as part of a blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
Earlier this month the crossing was opened as a goodwill gesture in honor of the Ramadan holiday, also for a two-day stretch. "Egypt has allowed 4,545 Palestinians and Egyptians to cross, including 3,437 who came into Egypt and 1,108 Palestinians who headed to Gaza," a Cairo security official said.
AFP and the Associated Press contributed to this report
