AL-ARISH, Egypt - Egypt and Israel have agreed to allow some 600 Palestinians stranded in Egypt for weeks to cross into the Palestinian territories through Israel beginning on Sunday, an Egyptian official said. “Egypt and Israel have come to an agreement which will allow some 600 Palestinians stranded in Egypt to cross into Israel on Sunday and Monday,” a security coordinator at the Rafah border town told AFP on Saturday.The Palestinians would pass through the Al-Oja cargo crossing on the Egypt-Israel border, south of the divided town of Rafah, the official said. About 100 Palestinians will be driven from Al-Arish, 50 kilometres (31 miles) west of Rafah, into Israel and from there to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the official said, adding that about 500 Palestinians will take the same routethe next day.
| Brilliant, Olmert, let's just add to your problems ... |
Some 6,000 Palestinians are estimated to be living in and around EgyptÂ’s border town of Rafah in increasingly dire conditions since the local border terminal closed 45 days ago. More than 10 travellers have died.
The Rafah terminal -- GazaÂ’s only door to the outside world that bypasses Israel -- has been shut since deadly Palestinian infighting saw Hamas seize the Gaza Strip on June 15.