Egyptian government to ease siege on Gaza

Ma'an – The Egyptian government will apply new procedures at the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border to ease travel for residents of the besieged coastal enclave, officials said Thursday.

During a meeting in Cairo, Baha Ad-Dusuqi, head of Palestinian affairs in the Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed Gaza government spokesman Taher An-Nunu that new measures would be in place at the terminal soon.

An-Nunu appealed to the Egyptian government to open the Rafah crossing swiftly.

Since Israel imposed an illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip, the Rafah crossing is the only gateway to the rest of the world for Gaza residents.

The officials also discussed internal Palestinian reconciliation, and the need to restore national unity between the Hamas-run government in Gaza and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

An-Nunu said the Gaza government was confident in Egypt's ability to mediate an end to the division, and said national unity would empower Palestinians to deal with Israel's occupation.

Ad-Dusuqi said Egypt was keen to help unity efforts. The new Egyptian government, in place since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February, sought strong relations with Palestinians, the official added.

Egypt would not hesitate to support Palestinians' rights in all areas, Ad-Dusuqi said.

An-Nunu said the Gaza government would support Egypt's new leadership as it transitioned to full stability.