THE Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which has been closed for the past five months, was opened for two days at the weekend, on the eve of Ramadan.
On Saturday, nearly 2,000 people left Gaza and 900 entered the besieged Palestinian territory from Egypt. Among those leaving Gaza were 300 Egyptian citizens who have been stranded there since the border crossing was closed in March, after the mass break-out of Palestinians who breached the border in several places.
The Israeli Zionist regime and its occupation army have maintained a siege of Gaza since June 2007. At that time the Hamas government took control in the Gaza Strip.
For more than a year, the 1.5m Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been forced to rely on the meagre and erratic supplies of electricity, fuel, food and medicines which the Israelis allow in. Even international aid agencies have difficulties in gaining access to Gaza.
A week ago, two small wooden boats manned by anti-war protesters and relief workers and under the glare of worldwide publicity, were allowed to enter the port of Gaza City to deliver supplies and this broke the siege.
They left the Palestinian territory last Thursday to return to Cyprus, taking with them seven Palestinians who had been denied exit visas by the Zionist authorities. Among them was 10-year-old Saed Mosleh who lost a leg, and needs specialist medical treatment, when an Israeli tank shelled Beit Hanoun.
The voyages of the boats, Free Gaza and Liberty, certainly highlighted the horrendous conditions Palestinians experience in the Gaza Strip – the barbaric Israeli blockade forces Palestinians to live in poverty, suffer malnutrition and denies them access to healthcare.
Obviously, the boats breaking the siege could only bring token relief. However, the Rafah crossing has the capacity for the movement of hundreds of people and can handle substantial shipments of essential supplies.
The opening of the Rafah crossing temporarily at the weekend allowed a substantial number of people to travel both ways. Yesterday, 400 medical patients were expected to leave Gaza for treatment in Egypt and other countries.
The Egyptian government responded to pleas from citizens whose relatives have been stranded in Gaza, appeals from Palestinians and other Arabs, and calls from supporters of the Palestinians worldwide, in deciding to open the crossing to mark the beginning of Ramadan.
The weekend opening of the Rafah crossing highlights the fact that the Egyptian regime has, until now, been complicit in the Zionist blockade of Gaza by shutting the crossing. When the people of Gaza breached the border wall in February, Egypt sealed it again!
Egyptians, other Arab peoples and supporters of the Palestinians internationally must demand that President Hosni Mubarak’s government opens the Rafah border now to allow free movement of people, goods and services, not just on holidays, but permanently.
The Egyptian people and the whole Arab nation must act to end the Israeli blockade that has turned Gaza into a giant prison camp, with men, women and children on starvation rations.
In addition, the working-class movements in the US and Britain have a major responsibility for ending the siege of Gaza. Without US dollars and British diplomatic support, Israel could not maintain its occupation and the siege of Gaza for more than a few days.
Most trade unions in Britain, which meet at the conference of the Trades Union Congress next week, have voted to support the Palestinian people at their conferences. They must implement this policy!
The British trade union movement must act to get rid of the Brown government, which gives uncritical support to Israel and justifies its atrocities, and replace it with a workers’ government that will supply aid to Gaza and support the struggle of the Palestinians to establish their own state, with Jerusalem as its capital.
