Despite the atmosphere of reconciliation that prevailed at the end of 2017 during which the Hamas Movement rushed to make unprecedented concessions the most prominent of which was the handing over of the crossings of the Gaza Strip including the Rafah crossing to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah in early November no improvement was recorded regarding the operation of the Rafah crossing which only opened for 30 days throughout the whole year.
The worst year
According to observers estimates and statistics 2017 witnessed the worst period of work for the Rafah crossing throughout the eleven years of the siege with the year 2009 being a very bad year as well in which the Rafah crossing opened for 35 days only.
This closure impacted Gaza’s various sectors crossings and public life with economic expert Maher Tabbaa saying that the year 2017 was the worst for the agricultural industrial and the reconstruction sectors in the coastal enclave.
Statistics and figures
According to statistics by the Ministry of the Interior the opening days of the Rafah crossing between 2009 and 2017 were as follows:
– In 2009 the number of days of opening the crossing was 35 compared to 330 days of closure.
– In 2010 the number of days of opening the crossing was 243 compared to 122 days of closure.
– In 2011 the number of days of opening the crossing was 269 compared to 96 days of closure.
– In 2012 the number of opening days of the crossing was 310 compared to 56 days of closure.
– In 2013 the number of opening days of the crossing was 263 compared to 102 days of closure.
– In 2014 the number of opening days of the crossing was 125 compared to 224 days of closure.
– In 2015 the number of opening days of the crossing was 32 compared to 333 days of closure.
– In 2016 the number of opening days of the crossing was 41 compared to 324 days of closure.
– In 2017 the number of opening days of the crossing was 29 days compared to 269 days of closure.
Exceptional opening
When the Egyptian authorities allow the opening of the Rafah crossing in an exceptional manner news spread viral in the media which does not usually exceed three days and in the best case four days after a closure of at least two or three months.
Despite what many people suffer from due to this almost permanent closure the Ministry of the Interior pointed out that more than 30000 registered residents are in dire need for travel mostly patients students and business owners indicating that traveling for tourist purposes is not a choice to residents of the Gaza Strip.
Under PA control
Despite the statements published by various media outlets prior to the reconciliation agreement by a number of Fatah leaders that the Rafah crossing “will open completely” after the handover of authorities by Hamas in Gaza none of this happened.
And despite the state of consensus the head of the PA crossings authority Nazmi Muhanna asked for a ‘clean’ handover of the crossing – that is the absence of any former Hamas employee despite the state of organization and the remarkable management that the staff provided. However Hamas did not make this a stumbling block to reconciliation and he got what he wanted.
The 2005 Agreement
One of the worst events related to the Rafah crossing in 2017 was the re-introduction of the 2005 Agreement to operate the Rafah crossing which was considered by politicians and observers a re-invitation to Israel to control the crossing again.
At the time Hamas Political Bureau member Mousa Abu Marzouk expressed his surprise at the insistence of the PA to have Israeli presence at the Rafah border crossing “by demanding the return of the European observers to the crossing.”
The PA’s Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Sheikh said that they continue to provide all requirements to open the Rafah crossing according to the 2005 Agreement.
