Three days after Rafah terminal opens, trickle of Gazans cross
RAFAH TERMINAL, Gaza Strip – The Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border is a subdued place these days.
When Egypt made good on its promise and eased controls governing entry and exit from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the events received worldwide attention. Hatem Awideh, of the Gaza border, called it “a cornerstone for a new era” while The New York Times headlined it: “Egypt Lifts Blockade, Along With the Gazans’ Hopes.” Israel’s opposition Kadima Party declared the opening a "national failure.” The Turkish organizers of a flotilla due to leave for Gaza with aid supplies next month felt compelled to defend their decision to go ahead with the mission.
But on the first day Rafah was open, only 450 of the 1.6 million Gazans packed into the enclave’s 360 square kilometers (139 square miles) opted to cross. The next day it was just over 590 coming. On Monday, the number declined slightly to about 580. No goods or merchandise, except as much as can be stuffed into a large suitcase, can pass through Rafah at all.
Billed as a major event with multiple political ramifications for Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians, the Egyptian move, in fact, marks just a small step in a gradual easing of a four-year-old blockade of Gaza. Imposed by Israel after the Islamic Hamas movement seized control in 2007 and backed by Egypt, the lockhold on Gaza is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Hamas and encouraging Gazans to rebel against the movement’s rule.
But a year ago, the two countries removed its most onerous terms following a bugled Israeli commando raid on a Turkish attempt to break the blockade. Egypt eased controls further
By one estimate, more than 130,000 Gazans passed through the crossing in 2010 and another 30,000 passed through it since the start of upheaval in Egypt last January. The difference since last Saturday is that Rafah now operates six days a week instead of five and working hours have been extended by two hours daily. Visa requirements have been lifted for women, children under 18 and men over 40.
“It’s revolutionary compared to what was happening in the past year. It was not revolutionary over what has happened over the past (few) years,” Mkhaimar Abusada, who teaches political science at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University, told The Media Line. “Basically, it’s an upgrading of the facility and mechanism for travel.”
Sami Khader, 48, should have been among the first to line up at the exit ramp from Gaza after it opened. His family came to the enclave in early 2010 for a short vacation to see their relatives and then head back to Saudi Arabia, where they have lived for years. But the family ended up trapped in Gaza and they have lost their permits to reside in the kingdom.
With the Israeli blockade eased and more goods arriving, Gaza’s economy has grown strongly over the past year even though it remains poor and reliant on international aid. The International Monetary Fund estimates Gaza’s gross domestic product grew in the double-digits last year and Palestinians investors are building the coastal strip’s second shopping mall.
On Monday, Palestinian officials pledged $200 million for rebuilding Gaza and hope to raise an additional $800 million from private Arab investors.
“I’m happily living in Gaza now with my family and I don’t need to go back to Saudi Arabia,” Khader told The Media Line. “Who could have known that in one year many things could change? Why can’t you quit one life to lead another one in Gaza, your own home?” Khader said.
The Hamas government is Gaza staged a campaign to ensure a big turnout at Rafah on Saturday, hiring buses to transport people to the terminal and sending activists to encourage people to cross. But, in fact, many people who might want to leave can’t because officials for now are limiting exit permits to people who had previously registered to leave under the older, more restrictive terms.
Sarah Ahmed said he never gave up hope. Her cousin Ahmed Ahmed, she said, gave up hope of finishing his studies abroad, threw away his British visa and enrolled in the Islamic university in Gaza. But even though she has been trapped in Gaza for close to a year after coming back for a family visit, she declined to enroll in any local university.
“I’m still waiting for my turn to leave Gaza and renew my British visa and continue my studies at Glasgow University,” Sarah Ahmed, a student studying in Britain, told The Media Line. ”I love it there, and I can’t wait to go back”.
Abusada of Al-Azhar said the registration system is a holdover from a 2005 agreement governing border controls at Rafah. They date from just after Israel evacuated Gaza and before Hamas took over Gaza. Egypt required a list of people seeking to cross to prevent people regarded as security risks from entering the country.
But now with the border open to everyone except men between 18 and 40, it is mainly Hamas interest to keep the pre-registration policy in force, he said.
“If there was no pre-registration the border would be flooded with tens of thousand who want to leave, so they are regulating the movement,” Abusada said. “Once the border is open for three months or six months, and Palestinians have become accustomed to it, they will cancel registration.”
He predicted a crush at Rafah come summer. Gazan school children are taking year-end exams now, which means many families would prefer to wait till the vacation begins. The limited hours at the terminal, which during the 1990s was open 24 hours a day, will exacerbate the problem.
No good are permitted through Rafah, but the terminal was never designed as a transit point for merchandise and none of the sides involved would want to see that change, analysts said.
Israel allows more goods than ever in the past four years through its border with Gaza – on Monday, around 240 truckloads of goods entered, including 60 containing construction materials – and collects customs duties on import wares that is then passed over to the Palestinians Authority. Meanwhile, Hamas collects it own taxes on good smuggled through the many tunnels dug under the border with Egypt.