Palestinians take over key border to Egypt

Palestinians take over key border
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas
has presided over a ceremony marking
the official re-opening of the border
between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Declaring the crossing at Rafah open,
Mr Abbas said it was
"a dream come true" for Gaza's
1.3 million residents.
For the first time, Palestinians will
control a gateway to the outside world
that is vital for Gaza's economy.
Israel passed control of the border
to the Palestinian Authority
- under the supervision of EU monitors.
The crossing will actually be opened to
Palestinians coming from
and going to Egypt on Saturday.

The EU's envoy to the Middle East,
Marc Otte said the opening
would mean an "enormous step forward toward the freedom of
the Palestinian people".
Gaza has no sea port and the Israel has not agreed to allow the
international airport to re-open, so the Rafah border is Gaza's
gateway to the outside world.
BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston says Palestinians have
always hated having to pass through Israeli hands at the
frontier, where they were often subjected to delays and
questioning.
Israel closed the Rafah crossing on 7 September shortly
after withdrawing from Gaza, citing concerns that it would
be used to smuggle weapons and militants from Egypt into
the Palestinian Territories. Since then, the crossing has barely
been open at all.
The Israelis worry that Islamic militants might infiltrate Gaza
and threaten Israel. They have insisted on the right to monitor
the crossing point on television screens from a base a few
kilometres away.
Last-minute deal
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
brokered a deal between Israel and Egypt allowing key
border crossings into the Gaza Strip to be re-opened.
Under the agreement, there are limits to Palestinian authority
at the border.
Palestinians will control the border, but EU monitors will have
the authority to detain vehicles or individuals if they feel they
have not been properly checked.
Israeli security officials will watch all movements at the
crossing on TV screens, but they will not have veto power
over individuals moving through.
While exports will not be supervised by the Israelis, the flow
of goods into Gaza will remain entirely under its control at the
border crossing at Kerem Shalom.
Palestinians will be able to travel in bus convoys between Gaza
and the West Bank from December, and in lorry convoys a
month after that.
There are plans for a sea port, although the Israelis have
refused to allow the international airport to re-open.
EU mission
On Wednesday, the head of the team of EU monitors, Italian
military police General Pietro Pistolese, said the crossing
would only be open for four hours a day until the number of
monitors increases from 20 to between 50 and 70.
European officials have described their role as one of the most
important missions the EU has ever undertaken.
It is the first time the EU has been so directly involved in
efforts to ease the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As the Europeans are also expecting to play a role at the start
of next year in training the Palestinian police force, there is a
sense in Brussels that this is a mission that cannot be allowed
to fail, correspondents say.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4468818.stm
Published: 2005/11/25 14:01:27 GMT

-May God forgive us if this turns out to be the biggest blunder ever.