Hamas: Gaza-Egypt Border to Open for Three Days

Source: Al-Manar TV, 9-5-2008
The main border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will be opened for three days starting on Saturday under a deal between the Islamic group and Cairo, a Hamas official said on Thursday.
The crossing at Rafah has been largely closed since early February when Egypt resealed the border after Hamas resistance fighters blasted it open in defiance of an "Israeli"-led siege of the coastal enclave.
With U.S. backing, Egypt has been trying to broker an unofficial truce between "Israel" and Hamas to stop violence that threatens to derail peace talks. That proposed deal calls for reopening Rafah under the control of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas and Olmert launched U.S.-sponsored talks in November with the aim at reaching a deal on Palestinian statehood before President George W. Bush leaves office in January.
Hamas official Ayman Taha said sick Gazans would be allowed to cross into Egypt on Saturday. Palestinians holding Egyptian and other foreign passports will be allowed to leave the coastal territory on Sunday and Monday, Taha added.
Egyptian security sources said Egypt had agreed in principle to open the border for three days to allow the wounded to cross into Egypt for treatment and to allow Egyptians in Gaza to return. A European diplomatic source said European Union monitors would not be at the crossing.
EU monitors had been stationed at Rafah until Hamas activists took control of Gaza after routing Fatah forces loyal to Abbas.