Gaza students stage sit-in at Rafah crossing

Dozens of Gaza students organized a sit-in at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Monday, demanding opening the terminal in order to allow them to join their universities The Egyptian authorities have been closing Rafah border terminal since last Wednesday, which exacerbated the suffering of the besieged Palestinians in the Strip especially the sick and the students . Participants in the sit-in hoisted Palestinian and Egyptian flags along with posters , demanding an end to the Gaza blockade and opening the Rafah crossing . Mumen Baroud, a student, delivered a speech on behalf of the students , asking the Arab and Islamic countries and free people of the world to intervene and break the “oppressive” siege imposed on Gaza for seven years . Other citizens, whose residence permits and airplane tickets are about to expire, took part in the sit-in . The Egyptian authorities have been opening the crossing on partial basis since early July after the ouster of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi which leads to an increase in number of stranded travelers that amounts to thousands .