Israel reopens border to allow Palestinians home

ISRAEL reopened the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt yesterday, allowing 1,500 Palestinians home after being stranded for three weeks in Egypt.

Elsewhere in Gaza, a Palestinian trying to plant a bomb near an Israeli settlement was killed by the Israeli army yesterday, the military said.

The 18-year-old was a member of the militant Islamic Jihad group, Palestinian officials said.

Israel closed the Rafah terminal on July 18, saying it had intelligence that Palestinian militants had dug a tunnel under the crossing or a nearby Israeli army outpost and were planning to blow it up.

Soldiers searched the area during the closure, but army officials declined to say yesterday whether anything suspicious was found.

The closure disrupted the travel plans of thousands of Palestinians during the busiest season of the year. The Rafah terminal is the only way out of Gaza for Palestinians, and Gaza residents travelling abroad must travel through Egypt.

During the closure, hundreds of Palestinians slept outdoors near the Rafah terminal, while others waited at hostels or returned to Cairo. Earlier this week, Egypt warned of a humanitarian crisis.

Israel offered to open an alternate crossing, but Egypt and the Palestinian Authority rejected the proposal as a violation of existing border agreements.

Nihad Abu Jazar, aged 22, a third-year student at Cairo University, waited for 21 days to cross the terminal. Jumping off the bus, Abu Jazar fell into the arms of her family, tears streaming down her face.

She said she was forced to violate Islamic custom by being constantly in the presence of men. She said she almost broke down several times and returned to Cairo.

"But every time, I convinced myself that they might open any time and to be honest I don't have enough money. My father is unemployed," she said.

The travellers spent the first week sleeping on the ground, Abu Jazar said. Later, the Egyptians and charity organisations brought basic supplies, including mattresses.

But there were not enough toilet facilities, and people were forced to stand for hours waiting to use the bathroom.