Egypt today permanently opened the Gaza Strip’s main gateway to the outside world, bringing long-awaited relief to the territory’s Palestinian population and a significant achievement for the area’s ruling Hamas militant group.

Egypt will open its only crossing with the Gaza Strip this weekend, the Cairo military government announced today, significantly easing a four-year blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory but setting up a potential conflict with Israel.

Israeli forces today evacuated an old army base in the northern West Bank used last as a staging area for removing settlers and protesters from two settlements last month, but soldiers shot dead a young Palestinian who entered the base too quickly.