Egypt to re-open Rafah crossing soon

Hamas Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ghazi Hamad warned of repercussions following the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip,   noting that the number of Palestinian travellers has declined immensely during the recent period. In an exclusive interview with Arab Today, Hamad said the number of Palestinians who were travelling through Rafah used to be over 1200 people per day, but the number has dwindled by more than 80 percent, mainly due to the recent upheaval in Egypt. The Gaza official  said however that Egypt is due to re-open the border crossing soon, adding that the Hamas authorities in Gaza have explained the negative consequences of the closure to their Egyptian counterparts. When asked about Egypt demolishing the smuggling tunnels to Gaza, Hamad said Egyptian authorities never gave a warning about shutting them down but that the move has had a vast impact on everyday life in Gaza since residents used the tunnels  to maneouver around the Israeli siege. Furthermore Hamad blamed deteriation in relations with Iran on Hamas supporting opposition fighters in the Syrian civil war, adding that Hamas used to have a good relationship with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to Hamad, Hamas is keen to improve relations with Tehran, who was one of the groups main financial backers. However ties have deterioated further since Hassan Rouhani was elected in June to take over the Iranian presidency, replacing Mahmoud Ahmadinjad.