Egypt to allow more Gaza passengers through Rafah

Egypt has agreed to increase the number of passengers passing through its Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip to 1,000 per day, the Palestinian crossings director said Wednesday. Maher Abu Sabha told Ma'an the terminal -- the only entry and exit point for travelers from Gaza -- currently has 500 registered passengers per day in July, but now has a quote for 500 more. Palestinians are required to register in advance with the Gaza Ministry of Interior before travel via Egypt. The Egyptian boost to the number of terminals comes as politicians and residents of the Gaza Strip expressed high hopes that the country's newly elected Muslim Brotherhood president would work to ease the situation of Gaza, which is under an Israeli blockade. Gaza's ruling Hamas, an offshoot of the Brotherhood, hopes president-elect Muhammad Mursi will help end the party's international isolation and ease Israel's closure regime on the coastal enclave. Crossings director Abu Sabha said he hopes Egypt will also increase the opening hours of the Rafah terminal, noting that other Egyptian borders are open for more than nine hours daily, whereas Rafah only opens for eight hours. The expansion of passenger lists through Rafah coincides with an annual high frequency of travelers during the summer months.