GAZA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Arrangements between Hamas and Egypt are underway
to open a travelers' crossing point into Gaza for three days every week, the
Islamic Hamas movement said on Monday.
Contacts between "Gaza and the Egyptian side are persistent in order to
reach a deal allowing the opening of Rafah crossing for three days a week," said
Ihab al-Ghussein, a spokesman for Hamas-controlled interior ministry in Gaza.
He, however, added that the arrangements "did not reach the phase of full
implementation" because Egypt and the deposed Hamas government, which
administrates Gaza, still discuss some points.
Meanwhile, the interior ministry of Hamas called on the Palestinians who
plan to travel to register their names and the reasons of leaving at the General
Administration of Borders and Crossing Points, which was part of the
arrangements and aim at preventing congestion at Rafah crossing if it was
reopened.
In June last year, the only travelers' crossing at Rafah was closed when
Hamas took over the Gaza Strip by force and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas'
forces withdrew alongside European Union monitors.
Egypt maintained the closure of the crossing which, according to a
U.S.-brokered agreement, can not be open without the presence of the EU monitors
and the Palestinian Presidential Guard forces.
In some occasions, Egypt opened the crossing for patients and some Hamas
leaders who leave for talks in Cairo.