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Egypt's Rafah crossing open only 12 days in 2014: Gaza

In a statement, ministry spokesmen Eyad al-Bazm said Egyptian authorities were keeping the crossing shut "without stating the reasons."

18.04.2014 - Update : 18.04.2014
Egypt's Rafah crossing open only 12 days in 2014: Gaza

GAZA CITY 

Egypt's Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip has only been open for 12 days so far this year, Gaza's Interior Ministry said Friday.

In a statement, ministry spokesmen Eyad al-Bazm said Egyptian authorities were keeping the crossing shut "without stating the reasons."

Due to an eight-year-long Israeli embargo on the Gaza Strip, the Rafah border crossing – which links the strip to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula – represents Gaza's only window to the outside world.

Al-Bazm also called on international legal and humanitarian agencies to pressure Egypt to reopen the crossing with a view to "ending the suffering of thousands of Palestinians in the enclave."

Egyptian authorities have tightened their grip on the border with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip since last July, when the army ousted elected president Mohamed Morsi and cracked down on his Hamas-linked Muslim Brotherhood group.

Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007.

By Mustafa Haboosh

englishnews@aa.com.tr

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