Rafah Crossing opens for 2nd consecutive day

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Thu, 08 Feb 2018 - 12:17 GMT

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Thu, 08 Feb 2018 - 12:17 GMT

An Egyptian soldier keeps watch at the closed Rafah border crossing, between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

An Egyptian soldier keeps watch at the closed Rafah border crossing, between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

CAIRO – 8 February 2018: The Rafah crossing remains open in both directions for the second consecutive day, to allow the passage of more humanitarian cases, people and students who are waiting to travel out of Palestine.

An official source at the Rafah Crossing explained that security officers intensified their presence at the International Road of Arish-Qantara which people traveling to and from Egypt regularly use.

Egyptian authorities announced the interim opening of the Rafah Crossing on Tuesday, which is scheduled to close again on Friday.

The decision came amid tensions in the Middle East after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement to recognize Jerusalem the capital of Israel, a decision which attracted huge regional and international backlash, criticizing the decision as “unilateral” and not serving the peace process.

This crossing is mainly used for individual movements across borders; it was being prepared for goods transfers between the two countries. The Rafah crossing border's importance increased after Israeli forces destroyed the Yasser Arafat International Airport in 2001, which was the only airport allowing Palestinians to travel.

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