Egypt reopened the Rafiah border crossing with Gaza on Sunday morning to students, sick patients, and foreign nationals. The crossing was opened to Arab traffic going both into Gaza and out, and will remain open for three days.
It is expected that 500 students studying abroad and another 500 residents with valid residency permits will pass through the border on Sunday, Hamas-controlled Palestine Authority border spokesman Adel Zourab stated. Another 800 medical cases are expected to cross on Monday.
Israel has opposed opening the Rafiah crossing without the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. The terminal, the only international outlet from Gaza that does not pass through pre-1967 Israel, has been almost continuously closed since the Hamas takeover of the region in June 2007. On Saturday, it was reported that in the wake of the decision to open the border, Egyptian border police were visibly augmented out of concern that the Gaza residents would break down the border fence, as was done in the past.
In January 2008, about 350,000 Gaza residents flooded into Egypt via the Rafiah Crossing in order to obtain basic supplies and food after armed terrorists detonated 17 explosive devices, destroying some 200 meters -- almost a third -- of the length of the border wall separating Gaza and Egypt.
Gaza residents rushed into the Egyptian border town after hearing about the gaping hole in the fence, flooding the markets of Rafiah and El Arish.
Egyptian security forces stood by and did not attempt to prevent their crossing. Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak stated that he ordered the security forces to allow the Gaza residents to cross the border with impunity in order to purchase food. The hundreds of thousands that arrived in the Egyptian town of Rafiah emptied the town's store shelves of food items, cigarettes, and fuel.