Stranded Palestinian students protest at Rafah crossing

Dozens of Palestinian students and patients demonstrated Sunday outside the Rafah crossing point in the Gaza Strip, demanding priority to enter Egypt. The stranded students rallied outside the Rafah crossing point, which Egypt opened Saturday after eight days of closure, and then patients joined, witnesses said. Police from Hamas, the Islamic movement that seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, encircled the protesters and prevented them from entering the departure hall. Rafah is the main crossing point for Gaza's 1.7 million people. Egypt has closed it most of the time since its military ousted former President Mohamed Morsi, a Hamas patron, on July 3. The long-time closure of Rafah crossing stranded thousands of people in the coastal enclave. The students claimed that Hamas officials give priority to the travellers from "different categories" at the expense of the students. However, Hamas blames Egypt for closing the crossing point for long time. On Saturday, only 62 people managed to leave Gaza through Rafah while more than 300 people were waiting to enter Egypt. Prior to Morsi's ouster, an average of 1,200 people left Gaza via Rafah everyday.