Rafah crossing opening welcomed
Palestine-Egypt, Politics, 11/26/2005

The European Union has welcomed the opening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, three months after its closure following the Israeli withdrawal from it.

The foreign policy coordinator at the EU, Javier Solana, said that the opening of the crossing is considered an important step towards the foundation of a Palestinian state, because it is the first time in which the Palestinians control an international border.

Meantime, the Jordanian king Abdullah II welcomed the opening of the crossing and described it as positive and important in order to facilitate the Palestinian people contacts with the outer world, ensuring the freedom of their movement, and a step in the road of establishing the independent Palestinian state.

For its part, the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, took part in the inauguration of Rafah crossing. It said on behalf of its leading figures Mahmoud al-Zahhar that this step is a victory for the Palestinian people in being one of the achievements of the resistance. But al-Zahhar stressed that the movement is still attached to its opposition to the crossing agreement in it being a violation of Palestinian sovereignty.

Al-Zahhar statement came as he was attending the opening ceremony of the crossing with the participation of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the director of the Egyptian intelligence Omar Suleiman and the delegate of the EU, Marc Otti, in preparation to make the crossing operational as from today, Saturday.

In his inaugural speech, Abbas considered that the Palestinian sovereignty is still incomplete in Gaza, and would remain so until the Palestinian independent state is established with Jerusalem as a capital, stressing he will not accept anything less than a viable Palestinian state.

He called on the international community to work for giving the peace process a push forward on the ground of international resolutions and the Roadmap peace plan, as well as the vision of the US President George W. Bush to establish two states. He, simultaneously warned that the alternative to peace will be violence and explosions.

However, the director of the Egyptian intelligence described the opening of the crossing as a great achievement that completes Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, noting that this step makes the Egyptian- Palestinian borders open for contacts, and ends the sufferings of the people of Gaza.

On the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing, scores of Palestinians who were stuck on the border not able to enter the Palestinian territories saw the decision to open the crossing as a feat for them.

Previous Stories:
  Palestinian Rafah border crossing opens   (11/25/2005)
  Egypt, Palestine procedures for reopening Rafah crossing   (11/24/2005)
  Mubarak stresses support to Palestinian people to establish their independent state   (11/12/2005)

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