By Xinhua
Gaza : The last breach in Gaza-Egypt Rafah border fence was closed Sunday morning, ending an almost two-week-long border tumult during which the Palestinians in Gaza Strip crossed into Egypt freely for purchase of daily necessities, witnesses said.
They said that Egyptian soldiers were deployed in positions to close the border and monitor the movement of people at the border crossing.
As of Sunday morning, any cross-border movement was not allowed unless the return of the people who are on the wrong side, they added.
The re-control of the border crossing came a day after a senior Islamic Hamas official said the borders between the Gaza Strip and Egypt would be closed Sunday in coordination between the Egyptian and the Hamas police.
“Security forces from both sides will start Sunday closing the borders until finalizing the measures aiming at rearranging the movement of exit and entrance,” Mahmoud al-Zahar told reporters on his way from Egypt to Gaza Saturday.
On Jan 23, Hamas militants blew up the border wall separating Gaza and Egypt, allowing the Palestinians living in the poor isolated Gaza enclave to cross into Egypt for purchase of daily needs.
Egypt has allowed the Palestinian cross-border for the past 11 days until they decided to reseal the border crossing Sunday.