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Egypt partly opens Gaza borders for desperate travelers

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-16 17:53

GAZA -- Egypt on Saturday opened its borders with the Gaza Strip partly to allow the departure of humanitarian cases from the Hamas-controlled territory, Hamas authorities said.

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A statement by Hamas interior ministry said that the crossing will remain open for two days, adding that only patients, students and holders of foreign passports and residence permits are allowed to leave.

The Hamas authorities arrange the departure of the cases by asking them to apply in advance to book a place in the busses that Hamas will send to the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing point.

Since the crossing was open at 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT), only three buses, carrying around 150 travelers, have made their way into the crossing in the following three hours, slower than the regular, witnesses said.

Eight buses, in addition to ambulances transporting the badly ill people, are scheduled to leave on the first day according to Hamas' plan. The passageway would also be open before people returning to the Gaza Strip.

Egypt and Israel maintained the closure of their borders with the Gaza Strip since 2007 when Hamas routed security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and seized the coastal Strip.

A US-brokered protocol in 2005 says the Rafah crossing should only open when it is under the control of the Palestinian president's forces alongside with the presence of European Union monitors. The EU monitors are not allowed to stay at Rafah as long as pro-Abbas forces are not holding sway there.