Key Gaza crossing reopens

By MUHAMMED MUHEISEN
The Associated Press

GETTY IMAGES A Palestinian greets his family after Israel reopened the border yesterday between Rafah and Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip.

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About 1,400 Palestinians crossed into Gaza after the Rafah terminal was reopened, a Palestinian official said. The three-week closure came during the peak summer season, and hundreds of stranded travelers slept on the ground near the desert post, the only crossing for Palestinian travelers in and out of Gaza.

Israel shut down the terminal July 18, saying it had intelligence information that Palestinian militants had dug a tunnel under the crossing or a nearby Israeli army outpost and planned to blow it up. Militants have dug tunnels in the past to carry out attacks, including a deadly explosion at a Gaza army base this year.

Soldiers searched the area during the closure, but the military refused to say whether anything suspicious was found. The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported on its Web site that U.S. pressure forced Israel to reopen the crossing.

While the terminal was closed, some 1,500 Palestinians waited nearby and 3,000 others stayed with relatives in Egypt or at hotels, said Salim Abu Safia, the Palestinian director of the Gaza crossing.

Israel had offered to open an alternate crossing, but Egypt and the Palestinian Authority rejected that proposal as a violation of existing border agreements.

For many, yesterday's crossing was an emotional one, ending an ordeal that left them dependent on aid from charity organizations. Earlier this week, Egypt warned of an impending humanitarian crisis.

With tears streaming down her face, Nihad Abu Jazar, 22, a Cairo University student, ran into the arms of waiting relatives.

The travelers spent the first week sleeping on the ground, Abu Jazar said. Later, Egyptians authorities and aid groups brought basic supplies, including mattresses.

But there were not enough toilets, and people were forced to stand for hours waiting to use the bathroom.

She said she had considered returning to Cairo.

"But every time I convinced myself that they might open any time and, to be honest, I don't have enough money. My father is unemployed," Abu Jazar said.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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