Egypt to open Rafah crossing for two days starting Saturday

Egypt will re-open the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip in both directions on Saturday and Sunday for the upcoming Eid El-Adha holiday, after opening them for three days earlier this week, state news agency MENA reported on Thursday. The crossing has been open since Tuesday to Palestinian pilgrims leave Gaza to go on Hajj. The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Sinai is the only way for the 1.8 million Palestinians who have been living under siege since 2006 in Gaza to enter and exit the strip. Egypt has kept the crossing closed since October 2014 when an attack by Islamist militants in North Sinai left dozens of security personnel dead. The Egyptian government does periodically open the crossing for short periods. Eid Al-Adha falls in the second week of September and lasts for four days. The Islamic festival is significant because it marks the annual Hajj, or the Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.