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Palestinian MPs welcome Egypt’s stand on Rafah terminal

Palestinian lawmakers in Gaza Strip have affirmed Tuesday that the vital Rafah border crossing must remain purely Palestinian-Egyptian crossing that does not fall under Israeli control and interference in any way.

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Palestinian lawmakers in Gaza Strip have affirmed Tuesday that the vital Rafah border crossing must remain purely Palestinian-Egyptian crossing that does not fall under Israeli control and interference in any way.

The MPs affirmation came during a sit-in they held at the Rafah crossing in appreciation for the noble step taken by the Egyptian government towards the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip, and for allowing Palestinian citizens to cross into Egypt to buy medicine and food after Israel sealed off all exits of the Strip.

"This is a historic decision that confirms Egypt"s determination to break the unjust economic siege on the Gaza Strip, and not to starve the 1.5 million Palestinians there", said Dr. Ahmad Bahar, the acting speaker of the PA parliament, who participated in the sit-in.

He also appealed to the Egyptian leadership to immediately solve the dilemma of thousands of sick Palestinian citizens and to allow them receive medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals.

Furthermore, Bahar highlighted the problem of thousands of Palestinian students and workers studying and working in Arab and foreign countries, urging the Egyptian authorities to allow them depart to their host countries.

In addition, Bahar expressed gratitude of the Palestinian people to the Egyptian security forces that were stationed at the Rafah terminal for "facilitating and regulating the crossing of the hundreds of thousands of the Palestinian citizens into Egypt".

Moreover, the Palestinian legislator welcomed Egypt"s invitation to Hamas and Fatah Movement for national talks and reconciliation, praising Hamas"s swift acceptance of the invitation, and calling on Fatah faction to stop rejecting Arab initiatives and efforts to patch up Palestinian differences and disputes.

But he strongly condemned the statements of Salam Fayyadh, the "illegitimate PA premier" who called for the implementation of the 2005 crossings agreement between the PA and Israel that denied tens of thousands of Palestinian citizens their right to freely crossing in and out of the Strip.

"This (the crossings agreement) is an expired agreement that lack constitutional and legal basis in addition to lacking the popular support", Bahar pointed out, adding that no one could enforce such harmful deal again.

For his part, MP Dr. Marwan Abu Ras seconded Bahar"s gratitude to Egypt and to the Egyptian security forces, affirming, "Our message to the Egyptian government and the Egyptian parliament is that: You are our own people… if we don’t seek help from you, then from whom shall we ask for that help?".

"Our sick and wounded Palestinian citizens are suffering; we have more than 86 martyrs who succumbed to their illnesses. What had happened at the Rafah terminal wasn’t a solution…. We want the terminal to be open, and we want it to be open in a legal way", affirmed Abu Ras.

"We need food, medicine, and medical supplies; our (Israeli) enemy besieged and killed us, and denied us food and medicine", Abu Ras underscored, confirming that Egypt won"t "abandon or fail its Arab and Muslim brethrens".

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