The Rafah border crossing is the southernmost post of exit from Gaza.
(Image altered by The Quint/Aroop Mishra)
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After a series of negotiations and intervention by the United States of America (USA), the Rafah border crossing was finally opened on Saturday, 21 October, to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza strip.
Israel’s military, on October 13, had directed the evacuation of over 1.1 million people from northern Gaza. Since then, Palestinians have been gathering at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip in the hope of leaving ahead of an imminent Israeli ground offensive.
The Rafah border crossing is the southern most post of exit from Gaza. It borders Egypt's Sinai peninsula. The crossing is controlled by Egypt.
The Rafah crossing border point at the south of the Gaza Strip.
To answer this question, we need to understand the geography of Gaza Strip. To the east and the north of the Strip, it borders Israel. Towards the west of the Gaza Strip lies the Mediterranean Sea, which is also controlled by Israel.
The south point of Gaza lies the Egyptian border. So, Egypt is the only country that shares a border with the Gaza Strip apart from Israel. This is where the Rafah Border Crossing lies. So, this crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is the sole point to exiting Gaza that does not lead to Israeli territory.
Until the 19th century, the Sinai Peninsula was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Subsequently, it fell into the hands of the British, which maintained control till the mid-20th century.
In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour declared the creation of a Jewish 'National Home' in Palestine. Israel was formally formed in 1948.
The Balfour Declaration made by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour
In 1987, Palestinians declared the First Intifada, an uprising against the occupation of their land by Israel. This lasted till 1993. The Gaza-Jericho Agreement in 1994 gave Palestine autonomy and created a new system of shared control over the Rafah Crossing.
First Intifada, an uprising against the Israeli occupation in Palestine, lasted six years.
This part of the Agreement was later made null and void and replaced with almost the same language in the Oslo II Agreement.
In 2000, right-wing Israeli politician Ariel Sharon visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, which is the second holiest site in Islam and revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, their most sacred site.
Palestinians considered it a 'provocation' which resulted in the Second Intifada. As a result, Israel took total control of Rafah in 2001. Israel disengaged itself from the border in 2005.
Ariel Sharon's visit to Al-Aqsa mosque in Old-Jerusalem in 2000.
Palestinian Authority signed the Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) with Israel which gave Palestinian government the right to control the border but Israel held the authority to close the border whenever it chooses.
Present day Rafa Border Crossing point.
Gaza has been facing a total blockade and is running out of essential supplies with Israel rejecting any humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza since 7 October.
Biden said Egypt would allow up to 20 trucks in the first batch. However, after further delays and negotiations, the first consignment of humanitarian aid finally entered Gaza via the Rafah Border on 21 October.
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