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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Long wait to get through Rafah post |
| 2009-01-21 |
| It was a day of hurry up and wait. The hour long drive from Al Arish, Egypt to the Rafah border post was uneventful. We passed half a dozen trucks laden with food, mattresses and other goods along the way, also headed for Gaza. When we arrived at the border, at around 9 am there were about 30 people there before us, some medical workers, some journalists. There were 7 ambulances waiting to take out injured patients and slowly the trucks carrying aid started to queue, stretching back until more than 20 were waiting for entry. Once we were through the gates, we moved into the Egyptian border control office, who asked us to write and sign letters stating that we were entering Gaza of our own volition and that our safety was in our own hands. After about a half an hour our passports are returned to us with Egypt exit stamps so we walk over to the exit point. We are stopped by the guards. There is a problem with Ashraf's passport and they say that I can go but he can't cross. An entry stamp instead of an exit stamp by mistake. Done. We are through on a bus that takes us to the Palestine side of the border. |
| Posted by:Fred |