Egypt, Israel agree to transfer stranded Palestinians to Gaza

Egypt, Israel agree to transfer stranded Palestinians to Gaza


www.chinaview.cn 2007-07-29 05:37:02 Print

CAIRO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Egypt and Israel have agreed to transfer some 6,000 Palestinians stranded in Egypt for weeks to the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Embassador to Egypt Monzer Eldigany told Xinhua on Saturday.

The Palestinians, which have been stranded at the Egyptian side of Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border since mid June, will enter Israel via Aloja terminal, Eldigany said.

He added that they will then enter the Gaza Strip through an Israel-Gaza crossing according to the agreement.

The embassador said the deal will be carried out on Sunday morning and the stranded Palestinians will cross Aloja, which is under control of Egypt and Israel, on many stages.

Earlier on Saturday, a Palestinian minister said the crisis of the stranded Palestinians would end soon, most probably on Tuesday.

Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affairs in Salam Fayyad government Ashraf el-Ajrami told reporters that an agreement was reached with the Israelis to let the Palestinians go home through other terminals.

But the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which took over the coastal strip on June 14 after defeating its rival Fatah movement, rejected this idea, insisting that the 6,000 Palestinian travelers should pass through the Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border, the only gateway to the outside world bypassing Israel.

Thousands of Palestinians, who left the Gaza Strip through Rafah crossing before Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, were not able to go back to Gaza after the crossing was shut down.

The stranded Palestinians in Egypt have been living in harsh conditions. International aid groups have repeatedly called for a speedy solution to the crisis.


Editor: Mu Xuequan