Rafah Crossing

Immediately following Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip, in 1967, the army issued an order declaring the Gaza Strip a closed military area. From then until completion of the “disengagement plan”, in September 2005, every Palestinian wanting to leave Gaza needed a permit from Israel, which controlled all the border-crossings. Upon complete implementation of the disengagement plan, and following the withdrawal of Israel forces from Gaza, Israel issued an order declaring the end of the military government in the Gaza Strip. However, Israel continues to control all of Gaza's entry and exit points. To the east and north, the Gaza Strip borders Israel, entry into which is permitted only at crossings under Israeli control. Entry and exit by sea, to the west, and by air, are also under Israel's sole control.

Crowded buses at one of the rare times Rafah Crossing has been open. Photo: Muhammad Sabah, B'Tselem, 6 March 2007.

Following the disengagement, Israel withdrew its forces from the southern border between Gaza and Egypt. At first, many thought that this brought an end to Israel's control of the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, known as Rafah Crossing, which is now the only border crossing in the Gaza Strip that is not subject direct Israeli control. However, as time passed, it became clear that Israel retained the power to open and close the crossing at will, and since Hamas’s takeover of the Palestinian security forces in Gaza, in June 2007, it has been almost permanently closed. With Rafah Crossing closed, Gazans are unable to go abroad, even to meet their humanitarian needs, such as urgent medical treatment. In early March 2008, the crossing was opened to enable a selected group of ill persons from Gaza to get to hospitals in Egypt, in accordance with an agreement between Hamas and Egyptian authorities, but was closed again in early April. In early May 2008 it was reopened under similar circumstances, but was closed after several days. Today it remains closed.

The Crossings Agreement

Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip also resulted in the freezing of implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access (the "Crossings Agreement”), which regulated the operation of Rafah Crossing. Under the agreement, made by Israel and the Palestinian Authority in November 2005, the Palestinian Authority operated the crossing in cooperation with Egypt. However, the agreement placed significant restrictions on the powers of the Palestinian Authority:

• Monitors from the European Union were posted at the crossing and empowered to prevent crossing if the conditions of the agreement were not met.  
  
  
• Israeli security forces monitored activity at the crossing via closed circuit camera and data systems that provided it with real-time information on the persons entering and exiting the crossing.
  
  
• The Palestinian Authority was allowed to permit entry via the crossing only to "Palestinian residents", that is, Palestinians who were registered in the Palestinian population registry and carried Palestinian identity cards. In cases in which Israel informed the Palestinian Authority that a person was listed as a security risk, the PA had to consult with Israeli officials and the EU monitors before allowing the person to cross.

Also, Israel could close the crossing down by preventing the EU monitors from getting to the crossing, given that the agreement stipulated the crossing would not be opened in the absence of the monitors. When Israel informed the monitors of a security warning that necessitated closing of the crossing, the monitors did not take their positions at the crossing and it remained closed. Since the abduction of Cpl. Shalit, Israel has used this method to prevent orderly movement at the crossing. In doing so, it imposes an almost total siege on the Gaza Strip, with nobody entering or leaving.

Following implementation of the disengagement plan, the crossing remained closed for about three months and was opened for the first time on 25 November 2005. From then until the abduction of Cpl. Shalit, on 25 June 2006, almost 280,000 persons crossed, an average of about 1,318 a day. From 25 June-12 December 2006, the crossing was open only 24 of the 168 days on which it was scheduled to be open, and an approximate average of only 310 persons crossed daily.

On the few days when Israel does elect to allow the opening of the crossing, notice is given to the EU monitors only a few hours in advance. Such last-minute notification makes it impossible for people in Gaza to plan their travels, and leaves those who go abroad uncertain as to when they will be able to return to the Strip.