Rafah crossing to reopen Tuesday

GAZA, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The international Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will reopen Tuesday, a Palestinian official said.

Dr. Ghazi Hamad, director general of crossings and borders in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, said in a telephone interview with the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA Saturday Egypt agreed to reopen the crossing both ways to allow stranded Palestinians to travel.

Beginning Tuesday, 300 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip will be allowed to cross into Egypt daily, Ma'an News Agency reported Sunday.

On Friday, Egypt opened the crossing to permit Palestinians stranded in Egypt to return to Gaza, the agency said.

Wafa, the official Palestinian Authority Web site, said 250 Palestinians returned to Gaza within a few hours after Rafah was opened Friday.

Egyptian authorities shut down the border crossing Jan. 28, days after the outbreak of anti-government protests in Egypt that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.