August 31, 2008	Sunday	Sha'aban 28, 1429

GAZA, Aug 30: Egypt opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, allowing hundreds of people to leave the Hamas-controlled territory, Palestinian officials said.

Egyptian security and border sources said the Rafah border crossing would remain open for two days to allow Gazans with foreign residence permits and humanitarian cases to cross into Egypt.

Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip more than a year ago, and hundreds of Egyptian citizens have been stuck in the coastal enclave.

Some 100 people have crossed into Egypt and 200 Palestinians have returned home to Gaza, the Egyptian sources said.

Palestinian officials said more than

500 Egyptians and Gazans with foreign residency permits had already crossed into Egypt and they expected hundreds more to follow.

Hamas wants Egypt to open Rafah permanently to ease the Israel-led blockade on Gaza, but under a US-brokered accord they cannot do so without the consent of Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement is rival of Hamas.

Hamas routed Abbas’s forces in June 2007 to take over the Gaza Strip. Abbas, in response, dismissed the Hamas-led government and appointed a new administration in the occupied West Bank where his Fatah faction holds sway.

Representatives of the rival Palestinian factions have been meeting in Cairo seeking reconciliation, but officials familiar with the talks said they did not expect them to reach an agreement.

Tension between Fatah and Hamas remains high, and thousands of government employees, medical workers and teachers affiliated with Fatah went on strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday over what they said was their poor treatment by Hamas.

Hamas threatened to penalise Gazans for not reporting to work and strip doctors of their private practices if they did not show up at public hospitals.—Reuters