Egyptian state news agency quotes military sources as saying the border with Gaza will be opened starting from Saturday.
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| There have been several attempts, some successful, to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip [GALLO/GETTY] |
Egypt will permanently open its Rafah border crossing starting from Saturday, the country's official news agency reported, easing a four-year blockade on the Gaza Strip.
The news agency MENA said on Wednesday that Egypt's new military rulers had set the date for the opening of the crossing as part of efforts "to end the status of the Palestinian division and achieve national reconciliation".
It said the Rafah border crossing would be opened permanently, starting on Saturday, from 9am to 9pm every day except Fridays and holidays.
"Sources in national security told Al Jazeera that the military intended to open up the border," said our correspondentAyman Mohyeldin, reporting from the capital, Cairo.
"A senior member of Hamas visiting Egypt has also confirmed that they have been notified that the military will open the border," he said.
Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston, reporting from Gaza, said, "It comes as no surprise; people of Gaza and Egypt have been waiting for the news for the last few weeks."
However, it will not be a full opening as there will be some conditions on exit.
"It will allow basically all women to leave Gaza, also children under the age of 18 years will be allowed to leave, as well as men over the age of 40 years. However, those between the ages of 18 and 40 years will require an Egyptian visa," she said.
"Visas would have to come from Ramallah. Sources in Hamas say they have been told by the Egyptian authorities over the last few weeks that they [Egyptians] do intend to open some sort of representative office inside Gaza, so that people can get the visa from there."
Sharp departure from past
The decision is a sharp departure from the policies of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who had restricted the movement of people and goods through the Egyptian-Gaza border.
Our Cairo correspondent said that "mechanisms in place at the border are going to be very important to watch".
"In fact, one of the military's first and important announcements was to abide by all international agreements that the previous government had committed to," he said.
One of those agreements commits Egypt to granting access to the crossing to European monitors. But sources told Al Jazeera that European monitors had not been notified that the border would be opening on Saturday, according to our correspondent.
Concerns for Israelis
"Certainly this is going to cause some concerns for Israel, particularly as to what mechanism is going to be put in place," our correspondent said.
Sources at Rafah said it was unlikely that all the mechanisms needed to be put in place could actually be ready in time to deal with the flow of people expected to come out of Gaza, he said.
"One of the biggest problems for Gazans, besides a shortage of food and supplies, has been the psychological impact of not allowing 1.5m people to move freely. There's no doubt if the border is opened freely for all, there's going to be a massive influx of Palestinians, who would want to get out for the first time since the siege was put in place."
Israel significantly eased its restrictions on cargo entering Gaza a year ago, but it still severely limits the entry and exit of Gazans through crossings in the north of the strip.
Gazans have circumvented the blockade by operating hundreds of smuggling tunnels under the 15km Gaza-Egypt border.
The tunnels have been used to bring in all manner of products, as well as people.
Israel says Hamasm which controls Gaza, has used the tunnels to import weapons, including rockets that can reach main population centres in Israel.
The crossing has been mostly closed, in line with Israel's blockade on Gaza, imposed since 2007 when Hamas took control of the coastal territory.
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