Egypt to reopen Rafah crossing with Gaza Strip for 3 days

Cairo, May 10 (IANS) Egypt will reopen the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip for three days next week to allow stranded Palestinians to return home.The Palestinian embassy in Cairo said on Saturday that it was informed by the Egyptian authorities that the crossing will be opened from Tuesday until Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.Palestinian Ambassador Diab al-Louh thanked Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and the authorities for the move, it said.The crossing had been shut down since mid-March as part the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus to the coastal Palestinian enclave.On April 13, Egypt reopened the crossing for four days to allow the return of the stranded Palestinians in Egypt.Controlled by Egypt, the Rafah crossing is currently the only link between the Gaza Strip and the outside world, since another two crossings are tightly controlled by Israel.
--IANS ksk/