GAZA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Traveling through Rafah, the key border crossing point between Gaza and Egypt, has been eased for the enclave's population as the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Morsi became Egypt's president-elect, Gazan officials said on Wednesday.
The officials said more than 1,000 passengers crossed from the Palestinian enclave into Egypt through Rafah daily after Morsi was announced winner of the presidential run-off on Sunday.
Most of Gazans going to Egypt are students, patients, businessmen and family visitors. The officials said that the relaxation on the crossing point carries great significance for them.
Mahmed Abu Sabha, director of the Hamas crossing authorities, told reporters that over the past two days, a large number of Gazans were allowed to enter Egypt through Rafah, adding that Egypt has made promises of further easing of the travel restriction.
Around Egypt's presidential run-off, Rafah was closed for six days and hundreds of passengers were stranded, said Abu Sabha, adding that the number of passengers is at its peak since lots of people want to go on summer vacations this time of year.
"Upon the Palestinian side's request, the Egyptian side eased the restriction on passengers. Since Monday, more than 1,000 passengers were allowed to travel (through Rafah) everyday," said Abu Sabha.
Spokesman of Hamas interior ministry Ihab al-Ghussein told Xinhua that after the relaxation, the ministry restarted the registration work for those who want to travel to Egypt in the summer.
The ministry had suspended the registration work before the relaxation because the people wanting to go to Egypt far outnumbered the daily quota of 500.
Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood founded in the 1980s, had called on Morsi to ease the travel restriction at Rafah and help end the Israeli siege against the enclave.
Three month after the Egyptian revolution in January 2011, which toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt eased the restriction at Rafah, deciding to open the crossing six days a week for eight hours instead of five days.
Now at the crossing point, students, patients and Palestinians holding foreign passports are allowed to cross without going through coordinated surveillance with the Egyptian security intelligence.
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