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http://www.haaretz.com Egypt permanently opens Rafah crossing with Gaza After four years, Egypt has permanently opened the Gaza Strip's main gateway to the outside world Saturday morning. The move to lift most travel restrictions on Gaza residents brings long-awaited relief to the territory's Palestinian population and a significant achievement for its Hamas rulers. But it raises Israeli fears it will be easier for militants to go in and out of Gaza. The first busload of passengers crossed into Egypt on Saturday morning at the Rafah terminal, where about 400 Gazans awaited. Egypt and Israel have maintained a blockade over Gaza since 2007 to weaken Hamas following its violent seizure of the area. But after the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February, Egypt's new military rulers decided to ease the blockade. Egypt announced its intention to open the border earlier this week, with Egypt's official Middle East News Agency saying the border crossing would be opened permanently starting Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Fridays and holidays. MENA said the decision to open the Rafah crossing was part of efforts to end the status of the Palestinian division and achieve national reconciliation. Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby told the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera late last month that the closure of Rafah crossing was about to end, calling the decision to close it a disgusting matter. Gazans have circumvented the blockade by operating hundreds of smuggling tunnels under the 9-mile Gaza-Egypt border. The tunnels have been used to bring in all manner of products, as well as people. Israel charges Hamas has used the tunnels to import weapons, including rockets that can reach main population centers in Israel's center. The opening of Rafah will allow the flow of people and goods in and out of Gaza without Israeli permission or supervision, which has not been the case up until now. Rafah's opening is a violation of an agreement reached in 2005 between the United States, Israel, Egypt, and the European Union, which gives EU monitors access to the crossing. The monitors were to reassure Israel that weapons and militants wouldn't get into Gaza after its pullout from the territory in the fall of 2005.
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