Hamas political advisor Yousef Rizqah said in a press statement on Monday that Egypt’s rules for the Rafah border crossing are not clear.
“Opening the crossing three days every fortnight is unacceptable,” he said, calling on the Egyptian authorities to open it permanently. “We are talking to the Egyptian ambassador in Ramallah and to the Egyptian Intelligence.”
Hamas President Haniyeh also rejected what he called “security arguments” justified by the Egyptian side. “Palestinians have the right to move freely as per international law,” he said. “You cannot besiege a whole population.”
Hamas Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the Egyptian authorities closed the crossing without justification for 25 days in a row.
Since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsy in July of last year, the crossing was opened only for humanitarian cases.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
