InfoAnda - Egypt eases travel restrictions for Gaza travelers |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Scallop feud stirs waters between Britain and France | | 11 October 2012
Libyans urged to unite after death of Gaddafi | | 23 October 2011
Mystery buyer acquires vatican.xxx web address | | 22 December 2011

LaHood calls summit on distracted driving | 4 August 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Egypt eases travel restrictions for Gaza travelers |

Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Slideshow Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Air France crash sparks pilot mystery 27 May 2011 Travelers sought as Gaza terminal empties quickly 10:11am EDT NATO says destroyed Gaddafi compound guard towers | 11:07am EDT Exclusive: Hackers breached U.S. defense contractors 27 May 2011 Obama reaffirms US security pledge to ally Poland | 11:28am EDT Discussed 129 As hours tick by, ”Judgment Day” looks a dud 105 Broadcaster silent as Judgment Day hours tick by 94 Obama departs for Europe trip, explores Irish roots Watched GM pulls the plug Fri, May 27 2011 Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail Tue, May 24 2011 Air France crash: early findings 1:29am EDT Egypt eases travel restrictions for Gaza travelers Tweet Share this By Nidal al-Mughrabi RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Egypt eased travel restrictions for residents of Gaza on Saturday, eroding a blockade of the Palestinian territory imposed by Israel to isolate its Islamist Hamas rulers. Egypt, which made peace... Email Print Related News Canada takes strong pro-Israel line at G8 summit Fri, May 27 2011 Egypt to open Gaza border crossing from May 28 Wed, May 25 2011 Abbas says Netanyahu offers no hope for peace Wed, May 25 2011 Netanyahu says will give up some land for peace Tue, May 24 2011 Palestinians' Fayyad stable after heart attack in Texas Mon, May 23 2011 Analysis & Opinion Palestinians are on the wrong path to statehood Egyptian Christians worry their country is being hijacked by Salafists Related Topics World » Egypt » Israel » 1 / 4 A Hamas policeman stands guard near Egyptian soldiers at the gate of the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip May 28, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa By Nidal al-Mughrabi RAFAH, Gaza Strip | Sat May 28, 2011 9:21am EDT RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Egypt eased travel restrictions for residents of Gaza on Saturday, eroding a blockade of the Palestinian territory imposed by Israel to isolate its Islamist Hamas rulers. Egypt, which made peace with Israel in 1979 but whose interim military rulers want to improve relations with Palestinians, allowed nearly 300 Gazans to enter its territory at the Rafah crossing in the first hour after it opened. By early afternoon a Palestinian border official said some 450 people had crossed through the Palestinian side of the border, equivalent to the total number of people able to cross in a day and a half last week. The crossing is due to close at 5 p.m. (10 a.m. EDT) Under new regulations Egypt announced on Wednesday, the Rafah crossing, Hamas-controlled Gaza's only window to the outside world, will operate six days a week instead of five and working hours will be extended by two hours a day. "I believe this a unique move and positive development," said Ghazi Hamad, Islamist Hamas's deputy foreign minister. Israel maintains a tight blockade of the Gaza Strip because Hamas refuses to recognize the Jewish state and calls for its destruction. Israeli officials have declined to comment on the opening of Gaza's only free exit point to the world. Israel allows some goods to be imported into the Gaza Strip through land border crossings and lets out a small number Gazans, mainly for medical treatment. LOOSER TRAVEL RULES Under Egypt's new travel guidelines, women, minors and men over 40 no longer require a visa to enter the country, meaning hundreds more passengers will be able to cross every day. Previously, the terminal could cope with no more than 300 outgoing passengers per day and Hamad said with streamlined coordination he expected the daily numbers to triple. "We will cooperate with Egyptian brothers to make sure the new arrangements get implemented smoothly and accurately ... We even hope that 1,000 people will be able to cross every day," Hamad, who oversees work at the crossing, told Reuters. Palestinians say the Egyptian move marks a new era in relations after the February removal in an uprising of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who helped preserve the blockade and sided with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas's rival. Egypt has also brokered a reconciliation pact between Hamas and Fatah signed earlier this month to end a four-year feud in a move which Palestinians hope will lead to the formation of a unity government and elections within a year. Nabil Shaath, a senior Fatah official visiting the Gaza Strip, said the easing of travel for Gazans came as a result of the reconciliation deal which "has made the job easier for Cairo ... as now they are dealing with one (Palestinian) entity." "We are very happy, it was a brave decision by Egypt to open the crossing and to dismantle the prison imposed by Israel on the people (of Gaza)," he said. The blockade has compounded severe poverty in Gaza, a tiny densely populated coastal territory of 1.5 million people. Israel has said it hopes Cairo will not heed Hamas demands to allow commercial goods through the crossing, saying it fears arms will be smuggled into the territory. Shaath rejected the fears: "Opening this door does not mean Egypt wants to allow bombs and explosives ... Egypt wants to allow safe passage of individuals who want to conduct their lives." Centrist Kadima, Israel's main opposition party, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inability to persuade Egypt to keep Rafah closed was proof his foreign policies were failing. "The breaking of the siege without coordination (between Egypt and Israel) and against (Israel's) wish is a failure of the Netanyahu government, whose weakness in diplomacy and failure to coordinate with foreign states has left Israel isolated," a Kadima statement said. The Rafah crossing had operated sporadically since 2007 after Egypt closed it following Hamas's takeover of Gaza when it ousted forces loyal Abbas's Fatah faction. Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 and seized Gaza a year later. Last year, Mubarak's Egypt opened the crossing on a regular basis five days a week and allowed mainly students, those needing medical treatment, holders of visas to a third country and dual nationals out of Gaza. (Additional reporting by Ahmed El-Shemi in Rafah, Egypt; Editing by Ori Lewis and Elizabeth Piper) World Egypt Israel Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Saturday, 28 May 2011
South Sudan says 80,000 flee after north takes Abyei |
North Korea to free U.S. citizen held for six months |
Dutch government to ban tourists from cannabis shops |
Honda Canada warns customers of major data breach |
California may review AT&T/T-Mobile USA deal |
Ex-Nvidia analyst admits insider trading charge |
Google, Facebook lose social network patent ruling |
Digital book companies jostle for dominance in NY |
Grease and Taxi actor Jeff Conaway dies at 60 |
Hangover sequel takes $31 million on first day |
Serb court says Mladic fit for genocide trial |
Bomb blast in NW Pakistan kills five |
Air strikes and Russian pressure squeeze Gaddafi |
U.S. says N.Korea releases American citizen, no aid agreement |
Air France crash sparks pilot mystery |
Six U.N. peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon bomb blast |
FCC asks AT&T about spectrum claims |
Amy Winehouse heads back to rehab |
Gil Scott-Heron, credited with inspiring rap, dies |
Cuban ballet to start U.S. tour next week |
Egypt eases travel restrictions for Gaza travelers |
Tenuous ceasefire eases conflict in Yemen |
Egypt's Mubarak fined for communication services cut |
NATO's commander for north Afghanistan survived Takhar blast |
Surveillance of family helped find Mladic: official |
Suicide bomber kills five in northwest Pakistan |
Death toll in Syria Friday protests rise to 12: group |
Karzai wants Afghans to take control of night raids |
Spain PM backs veteran Rubalcaba as successor |
Egypt's Mubarak fined for communication services cut |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01