Egyptian diplomat stressed that opening the Rafah crossing has not changed

An Egyptian diplomat said that the decision to open Rafah crossing point was unchanged, attributing problems on the crossing this week to technical matters.

"These problems need joint coordination between the Egyptian and Palestinian sides," said Yasser Othman, Egypt's ambassador in the West Bank.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday that Egypt doesn't let enough people to leave Gaza through Rafah crossing, the only gate for Gazans to the world.

Hamas' accusation came four days after Egypt opened the crossing on permanent basis. On Wednesday, Hamas said the movement of travelers at the crossing was "almost paralyzed."

The opening of Rafah crossing had been very limited since Hamas took over Gaza by force in June 2007. In June 2010, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak decided to open the crossing regularly.

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