Students protest the closure of Rafah crossing with Egypt
Ashraf Shannon
Press TV, Gaza
Scores of Palestinian students have staged a demo in front of the Rafah crossing with Egypt to protest its prolonged closure by Egyptian authorities. Students say the closure has made the lives of ordinary Palestinians in the Gaza Strip very difficult. Thousands of people are left stranded in the coastal enclave as a result of Egypt’s refusal to reopen the crossing over alleged security reason.
Since the beginning of the Israeli blockade in 2007 the Rafah crossing was kept under partial operation. Restrictions at the border terminal worsened following the ouster of Egypt’s first democratically elected president Mohammad Morsi in 2013.
The Gaza Strip has been described as the world’s largest open-air prison. Egypt has tightened its restrictions on Gaza following last October’s deadly attack on Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula.
Rafah is the only gateway for Gazans to the outside world that bypasses the Israeli controlled crossing in northern Gaza. Egypt has only opened it for three days this year allowing around 1500 people to exit the blockaded coastal strip. The restrictions have only made things worse for the territory’s population of around 1.8 million.
Many here believe that Egypt continues to play into the hands of Israel by further tightening the blockade.
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