About 500 pilgrims in front of Rafah pass on the first opening day

About 500 pilgrims showed up on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, on the occasion of the first day of the opening of the passage that allows access to Egypt. The Gaza transit department reports today through a statement, specifying that the 500 people will travel to Saudi Arabia, passing through Egypt, to make the annual Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj). On 25 August, the Cairo authorities announced that the Rafah crossing would be open today and tomorrow, 28 August, on the occasion of Eid al Adha (Feast of the sacrifice, the period in which the pilgrimage takes place), scheduled for this year August 31 and September 4. On August 22, the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported the news that the crossing should be open at regular intervals from September, immediately after the end of Eid al Adha. The opening of the crossing is expected to follow the completion of renovations underway since last March. In 2017 the crossing was only open for 14 days and is always conditioned by security measures. The renovations also involve the installation of a control system managed by computers located in Cairo, will allow the transit of goods and will protect the crossing from possible terrorist attacks. The opening of Rafah was announced last week by the leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, during a meeting with reporters. According to what was reported on 13 August by the information website “Falastin al Youm”, the Egyptian authorities have not confirmed the opening of the crossing after Eid el Adha. According to "Haaretz", the regular opening of the Rafah crossing is part of the agreement reached on the occasion of several meetings between Egyptian intelligence officials, members of Hamas and representatives of the Palestinian movement of Fatah linked to Muhammad Dahlan. The possible opening of the Rafah crossing on a regular basis is part of a rapprochement between Hamas and the faction of Fatah linked to Dahlan with the support of Egypt, where there have been numerous meetings in recent months. On August 17, the United Arab Emirates announced that it will donate approximately $ 15 million a month from September to the Gaza Strip to finance humanitarian activities. This was reported by Samir al Mashharawi, a man close to the rival of the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, Mohammad Dahlan, linked to Abu Dhabi. The decision takes place in conjunction with the rapprochement between the movement that governs the Gaza Strip, Hamas, and Dahlan, a Fatah exponent expelled from Gaza and sent into exile in Abu Dhabi in 2012. Last June and a few days ago, the Hamas leadership went to Cairo where it met Dahlan. Following the Abbas squeeze on Gaza, with cuts in electricity subsidies and the salaries of administrative employees, as well as media linked to Dahlan, the rival of the elderly PNA leader and Hamas are united by an "enemy" common. UAE funds will go to the Palestinian Joint Responsibility Commission to guarantee humanitarian assistance and carry out development projects in the enclave.
overcame their ancient rivalries to initiate a "power sharing" in Gaza to their own detriment
by the elderly leader of the PNA. Polls reveal that two-thirds of the Palestinian population would like the
Abbas resigned, elected for five years in 2005, but still in power at Ramallah because of the divergences
policies with Hamas that prevented the elections. On 7 August, an Israeli analyst quoted by the Israeli newspaper "Yediot Ahronot" revealed that the meetings between security representatives from Cairo and Gaza are part of a broader plan concerning the so-called "plan of the century" for the return of Dahlan in the enclave ten years after he left it. The "dress rehearsal" for Dahlan, who seeks to conquer the Muqata'a Palace and take the place of the president of the NPC, Mahmoud Abbas, would have been planned by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the United States and Israel, reveals "Yediot Ahronot".

About 500 pilgrims in front of Rafah pass on the first opening day

| MONDO, PRP Channel |