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by Khaled Abu Toameh
• May 29, 2015 at 5:00 am
- Since the
beginning of this year, the Egyptians have opened the Rafah border
crossing for five days only. The international community and media
often talk about Israel's responsibility for the ongoing blockade of
the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, while ignoring that the Egyptians
have been imposing severe travel restrictions on the 1.7 million
Palestinians living there.
- "We
understand Egypt's security concerns in Sinai, but it's time for the
Egyptians to reopen the border crossing on a permanent basis, especially
in light of the historic relations between Egypt and Palestine."
— Salah Abdel Ati, Palestinian human rights activist
- It is shameful
for the Egyptians and other Arabs that, while they are imposing
various restrictions on Palestinians, Israel is helping patients from
the Gaza Strip undergo surgery in Jerusalem. Ironically, the
frustration and bitterness eventually translate into violence against
Israel, not Egypt. The Palestinians are well aware that attacking
Egypt would draw a very strong response from the Egyptian military.
- Instead of
pointing the finger of blame at Israel, it is time for the
international media and community to put pressure on Egypt and other
Arab countries to help their Palestinian brethren and to stop
torturing and humiliating them.
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The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza,
January 2009. (Source: International Transport Workers' Federation)
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Yussra al-Najjar, a 65-year-old woman from the Gaza Strip, died this
week while waiting to return from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. She and hundreds
of Palestinians had been stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border
crossing for the past few months.
Al-Najjar is the tenth Palestinian to die while waiting for the
Egyptians to reopen the Rafah terminal. Her relatives said she lost
consciousness while waiting inside the travelers' hall on the Egyptian side
of the border and was rushed to an Egyptian hospital, where she was
pronounced dead.
The story of the Palestinian woman who passed away after being banned
from by the Egyptian authorities from returning home to the Gaza Strip is
unlikely to make it to the pages of major Western newspapers. Her story
would have won extensive media coverage had she been stranded on the
Israeli side of the border for even one day.
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