The sudden closure of Rafah crossing caused a great shock to thousands of Palestinians who have been waiting for it to open for long weeks.
Um Jamil was impatiently waiting for being allowed to travel to Libya to marry her daughter Aya to a relative to whom she got engaged over a year and a half ago.
When the Egyptian authorities announced opening Rafah crossing for four days Um Jamil and her daughter started to prepare themselves to travel not knowing that the crossing will be re-closed hours later.
Without giving reasons the Egyptian authorities on Wednesday evening decided to close Rafah border crossing and block movement in both directions until further notice.
Delayed marriage
Um Jamil told the PIC reporter “My daughter and I registered our names about a year ago to travel to Libya and join her fiancée.”
“The situation in Rafah crossing is unbearable” said the concerned mother “My daughter’s marriage is at stake and her wedding was delayed many times because of the repeated closures.”
Incomplete joy
Yasmin Abu Jazar 29 is a Palestinian married to an Egyptian citizen in Banha city in Egypt. She has been stranded in Gaza since she came to visit her relatives in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Abu Jazar told the PIC reporter “I came to Gaza six months ago to visit my relatives with one of my children. I left the rest with their father as I was planning to return as fast as possible but I couldn’t.”
Yasmin said that she was extremely happy when the Egyptian authorities two days ago decided to open the crossing for four days. Based on the lists of names registered for travel Yasmin was supposed to leave Gaza on the second day.
However Yasmin’s joy was interrupted by the sudden closure of the crossing only one day after it was opened for unexplained security reasons.
Endless suffering
The story of Kamal Tarzi 58 is no different. He has been waiting for over five months for Rafah crossing to open so that he can travel to Egypt for treatment after he managed to obtain a medical referral at his own expense.
“Enough is enough” Tarzi said with a deep sorrow. He appealed to the Egyptian authorities to re-open the crossing stressing that travel is a right guaranteed by all international laws.
All passengers who had left Egypt to return to Gaza are still stuck on the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing while only 652 Palestinian citizens were able to leave Gaza on the first day.
Thousands of Gazan patients students and holders of residency permits in foreign countries are still waiting for the crossing to open to leave the Gaza Strip. Usually the period decided by Egypt for the opening of Rafah crossing is not enough to secure the travel of all passengers in both sides.
Egypt abruptly closed Rafah crossing on 9th February 2018 under “security pretexts” related to the situation in Sinai Peninsula after opening it for two days only.
The crossing was exceptionally opened on Tuesday for the return of 160 passengers who had been stranded at Cairo Airport.
According to statistics by Gaza’s Ministry of Interior Rafah crossing has been opened for three days only since the beginning of 2018.
