Fenced-in Palestinians to open a gate to the world
With a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Gaza-Egypt border was reopening today – a milestone for the Palestinians who for the first time take control of a border crossing without Israeli veto powers and gain some freedom of movement.
The Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt had been closed by Israel as its troops withdrew from the Gaza Strip in September.
After two months of international mediation and a final push by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israel agreed that the Palestinians would run their side of the border, with the help of European monitors.
The crossing will open to Palestinian travellers tomorrow morning, initially for four hours a day until the European monitors get settled. After the test period, opening hours will be expanded.
“From this moment, we feel we are free,” said Fathia Najar, 55, one of a group of Palestinian travellers waiting near Rafah to cross the next day. “Before this, we lived in a jail.”
Before the Israeli pullout, travel through Rafah was often difficult. The terminal was repeatedly closed on security grounds, and at times travellers waited for days to get through.
Heavy security ringed the terminal during today’s ceremony, with police setting up roadblocks on access roads. Police officers also lined the main north-south road from Gaza City to Rafah.
The opening of the terminal is expected to give a boost to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, as his Fatah movement heads into fierce competition against the Islamic militant group Hamas in January 25 parliament elections.
The border deal backs Abbas’ message that Palestinians can only gain independence through negotiations with Israel. Hamas says such talks are pointless and that it drove Israel out of Gaza by force.
“This is a historic day,” Palestinian Cabinet Minister Mohammed Dahlan said at the start of the ceremony. Dahlan was key to negotiating the border deal with Israel and is a strong contender in the parliament election.
Despite the Abbas-Hamas rivalry, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar attended the opening ceremony. “Our presence here does not mean we support this agreement,” the Hamas leader said after hugging Dahlan.
The opening ceremony was held under a large tent, with 1,200 guests attending. After Muslim prayers, guests stood for a moment of silence for Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel.
In preparation for the opening, the terminal was refurbished. It got a new coat of paint, workers replaced the ceiling tiles and installed new lighting. Rows of blue and orange chairs filled the arrivals and departure halls, along with batteries of computers, X-ray machines, metal detectors and security cameras.
The key dispute between Israel and the Palestinians had been over whether Israel should get real time surveillance videos from Rafah and be allowed to veto the entry or departure of some passengers. In the end, Israel dropped both demands.
Initially, 20 EU monitors will supervise Rafah operations, said Julio Delaguardia, spokesman for the contingent. He said the first group of monitors were from Italy, Denmark, Romania and Luxembourg. In coming week, the group will grow to 70, with additional monitors from France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Finland.
He said he hoped all monitors would be in place within a month, to handle large crowds for an upcoming pilgrimage season to Saudi Arabia.
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