Gaza-Egypt crossing point operates normally for first time in years

 Rafah crossing point between Gaza Strip and Egypt started operating Saturday on permanent basis for the first time in four years.

Dozens of Palestinians started arriving at the crossing since early morning and many of them hoped to travel in accordance with the new Egyptian facilities.

On Wednesday, Egypt announced that the crossing will be working normally starting from Saturday. Any male aged above 40 years and under 18 can enter Egypt without any arrangement and all females are free to enter, according to the new criteria.

Salam Baraka, the director of Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side, said also that Egypt increased the working hours at the terminal to eight hours instead of six and also increased six working days in a week.

Egypt made the decision after rival Palestinian groups signed an agreement to reconcile and form a unity government to run the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Rafah was closed when Hamas routed forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, ousted his Fatah party and took control of the coastal enclave in 2007.

In June 2010, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak decided to open Rafah on more regular basis, but traveling conditions were mostly applicable to humanitarian cases.

By 9:30 a.m., three buses, carrying 50 passengers each, were lined up in front of the Egyptian gate at the crossing, waiting it to open. It was half an hour prior to the start hour.

Baraka said he expects that the crossing will be operating positively. "In the past, we were asked to let only 300 passengers go to the Egyptian side, but now the number of travelers is not bound by any restriction."

As the new Egyptian procedures to travel are abdicable to hundreds of thousands of Gazans, the number of people arriving from the Palestinian side at Rafah was less than expected. Baraka said that the movement of travelers this time of the year is "weak, " owing it to school exams time.

Ibraheem Hamdouna, 45, said he was traveling to see his relatives in Egypt whom he has not seen for years. "I tried to travel in the past, but couldn't obtain permission or justification to travel," he said. Today, Hamdouna is eligible to travel under the new Egyptian facilities.

"I hope this decision expands also to include people of all ages," he added.

The last time 75-year-old Sadia Abu Eissa set foot in Egypt was in 2008, when militants blew up metal barrier that marks the borderline between Gaza and Egypt. Now, Mrs. Abu Eissa is going for medical treatment without having applied for a permission, visa, security clearance or medical referral.

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