Gaza, Nov. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The Rafah border terminal between the Gaza Strip and Egypt officially opened Saturday as a first batch of Palestinians headed into the terminal.

   The Rafah crossing opened Saturday for business while a first busload of Palestinians moved through the terminal on the Gaza-Egypt frontier, witnesses said.

   Dozens packed the bus as hundreds of other passengers waited at the Rafah border crossing, they said, adding that queues of excited Palestinians had been lining up since the early morning to await the opening of the crossing.

   Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced the opening of the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border on Friday, marking the first time that Palestinians control a border.

   "It is a dream come true for us to be here to celebrate the reopening of the Rafah terminal as a free crossing between us and our brothers in Egypt," Abbas told the official opening ceremony packed with Palestinian and foreign dignitaries.

   The re-opening of the Rafah crossing came after a long-awaited agreement clinched between the Palestinians and Israel on Nov. 15 under the brokerage of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a regional visit.

   According to the agreement, the Rafah crossing will be jointly operated by Palestinian and Egyptian security under the oversight of EU observers, with remote-control cameras installed at the crossing.

   Headed by senior Italian police officer Pietro Pistolis, about 20  EU observers wearing blue hats and dark-blue uniforms, have arrived at Rafah to carry out their mission to oversee the crossing.

   The Rafah crossing will be open for four hours per day in the next 10 days as of Saturday. After that, it will be operated 24 hours a day when the number of EU observers increases to 70, said Palestinian spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh. Enditem