Egypt to Reopen Rafah Crossing with Gaza
Egypt will reopen its Rafah border crossing with Gaza for two days from Monday, for the fourth time since it was closed after a suicide bombing, security officials said.
The terminal was shut after the bombing in the Sinai Peninsula in October killed 30 soldiers, and has since been reopened three times.
The only access point to the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel will reopen on Monday and Tuesday to allow Palestinians stranded on both sides to cross.
Palestinians who travel through Rafah are mostly students heading to universities in Egypt or beyond, and those seeking medical treatment.
October's attack also led to a state of emergency and curfew being imposed in some parts of North Sinai where security forces are battling an Islamist insurgency.
The army has also created a wide buffer zone along the border with Gaza aimed at preventing infiltration by militants.
Despite these measures, on January 29 another 30 people were killed when rockets and a car bomb targeted a military base and other security posts in North Sinai.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, a jihadist movement affiliated to the Islamic State group that has seized territory in Syria and Iraq, has claimed most of the attacks in North Sinai, including those in October and January.
It says its attacks are retaliation for a brutal government crackdown on supporters of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by the army in July 2013.
The military has said that in February 172 militants were killed in joint police and army operations in the peninsula.
Source: Agence France Presse
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