Global General
Anxious Gazans trying to leave blockaded Strip
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-06-09 11:18
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 Palestinians wait for Hamas police officers to check their passports as they wait to cross to Egypt, at Rafah border crossing, southern Gaza Strip, on June 8, 2010. [Agencies] |
RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- A Palestinian who had to delay graduate school in Malaysia and an elderly man forced to put off eye surgery in Egypt are among thousands anxiously trying to get out of Gaza now that the blockaded territory's gateway to the world has opened just a little.
A Hamas-run passenger terminal on the Gaza side of the border was packed on Tuesday with hundreds of Gazans trying to get clearance just to approach the crossing into Egypt. It was a chaotic scene, with stressed passengers arguing with overwhelmed Hamas border officials.
Many of Gaza's 1.5 million people have been forced to put their lives on hold during the three years the territory's borders were sealed by Israel and Egypt, following the violent takeover by the Islamic militant Hamas.
Now, following last week's deadly Israeli raid on a blockade-busting flotilla, there is a glimmer of hope the darkest days may be over. In the wake of the assault that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists, world leaders have demanded the embargo be lifted or loosened.
Egypt's promise to keep the Rafah crossing open every day, rather than just sporadically, marks the first tangible improvement.
But even that gesture comes with many strings attached.
Only those with foreign passports or residency, or people requiring medical treatment or accepted at foreign universities are eligible to cross into Egypt. It's the same restricted group as in the past, though the steady opening of the terminal over the past week has helped reduce a backlog of thousands.
For some in the crowd on Tuesday, it was the second or third attempt in as many days to get out, with much at stake.
Hani Ihlayyel has been stuck in Gaza since returning for a summer visit in 2006 after earning a degree in computer engineering from a college in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
His plan was to return to Malaysia for graduate school, but instead the blockade forced him to remain in Gaza, where he said he wasted four years with odd jobs, including buying and selling computers. Gaza has several colleges and universities, but many areas of study, like medicine and advanced computer technology, are not available.
Ihlayyel tried several times to leave via Rafah in the past, but could never get all the necessary documents together, including an Egyptian security clearance and a spot on the Hamas-controlled waiting list. With Egypt opening Rafah only a few days every month or so, that list swelled to more than 8,000 by the end of May.
By Tuesday, just over 3,000 Gazans had crossed into Egypt, and Ihlayyel felt he might have a chance. He arrived at the Gaza terminal at 6:30 am local time and waited for his name to be called to receive a ticket for a seat on a bus taking him to the border crossing.
Three hours later, a Hamas official announced over a loudspeaker that no more tickets would be issued for Tuesday because four buses had already crossed and no more would be accepted by Egypt. Those in the terminal, Ihlayyel among them, were now waiting for tickets to cross Wednesday.
As the oldest of six brothers, Ihlayyel said he feels pressure to succeed and that his future depends on getting out of Gaza. He said his nerves are frayed because the stakes are so high and so much can go wrong.
"I am afraid of Hamas, of Egypt, of everything," he said, clutching a plastic envelope with his travel documents. "I'm scared, actually."
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 A Palestinian girl plays in a small box in the northern Gaza Strip on June 8, 2010. [Agencies] |