简体中文
Deputy chief of the Islamic Hamas movement, Ismail Haneya, called on Egypt Wednesday to permanently open the Rafah crossing point along the borders with the Gaza Strip.
Egypt on Tuesday partially and temporarily reopened the main crossing point to the outside world for only two days and in one direction only to allow for hundreds of Palestinians stranded at various airports to return to Gaza.
"Reopening the Rafah crossing is a positive step forward, but not enough," Haneya told reporters at the Rafah crossing as he arrived to receive two senior Hamas leaders returning to Gaza through the crossing.
Musa Abu Marzooq and Emad Alami were in Qatar and Turkey for several weeks and returned to Gaza Wednesday. The two senior leaders are members in the Hamas politburo.
"The Rafah crossing must be permanently and completely reopened round the clock in both directions to ease the suffering of the unfair siege imposed on Gaza for so many years," said Haneya.
He added that this message is sent to Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing point for our population in the Gaza Strip "because this crossing is the only gate for our people to the outside world. We hope Egypt will respond positively."
The Gaza Hamas-run ministry of interior said in a statement Wednesday that 507 Palestinians managed to cross the Rafah crossing point Tuesday and that there are still dozens waiting in Gaza to cross.
Officials in the crossing corporation, also run by Hamas, announced that there are around 15,000 Palestinians, including students, patients and businessmen who badly need to travel abroad.
Israel imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip, considering it a hostile entity right after Hamas violently seized control of the coastal enclave in the summer of 2007. Israel eased the blockade instead of lifting it. Enditem
