Portraits of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas hang at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on November 1, 2017. (AFP PHOTO)
GAZA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The ceremony of handing over the Gaza Strip's border crossings with Israel and Egypt began Wednesday with the presence of senior Egyptian security intelligence representatives, Palestinian Authority and Hamas officials.
Hisham Odwan, spokesman of the Hamas-run borders and crossings corporation, said "From now and then, the Palestinian consensus government is the first and last body in charge of the crossing points in the Gaza Strip."
The Palestinian Authority was on Wednesday handed over control on all the borders crossing points, including Rafah crossing with Egypt, Erez and Kerem Shalom border crossing points with Israel.
"The crossings were fully handed over to the Palestinian consensus government without the presence of any employee or any security or police that belongs to Gaza (Hamas authorities) after the PA insisted on this," said Odwan.
The ceremony of handing over Rafah crossing point to the PA began with playing the national anthems of both Egypt and Palestine, amid the presence of PA leaders and officials as well as senior Egyptian security intelligence and Hamas leaders.
"Today is the actual and practical first step of ending an internal Palestinian division that lasted for more than ten years," said Mufid al-Hassayna, minister of housing and construction in the consensus government.
"The Palestinian government announces that it cancelled all the old measures of collecting taxes and customs, adding "from now and then, there is no yellow, green or red, all of us are Palestinians and we will be united," he said.
Flags of Egypt and Palestine as well as pictures of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were placed inside the Palestinian side of crossing point.
Handing over the crossing points to the Palestinian consensus government is an implementation of an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation agreement reached between Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party in Cairo in Oct. 12.
