Gren­s­en mel­lom Gaza og Egypt ble åpn­et for van­lig tra­fikk lør­dag, for før­ste gang på fem år. Det skjed­de uten fan­far­er, men sym­bolsk er det vik­tig.

Ifølge BBC World Ser­vice var det krav på Tahrir-plas­s­en fre­dag om at Egypt må fø­re en an­nen poli­tikk over­for Israel. Det frem­stil­les – også av Washing­ton Post – som at Egypt bøy­de seg for Israels øns­ker da det holdt gren­s­en stengt. Fak­tum er at egypt­is­ke myn­dig­het­er selv fryk­tet islam­ist­isk smi­tte fra Gaza, både i form av ideo­logi, cel­ler og våp­en. Egypt fryk­tet å mis­te kon­troll over sine gren­s­er. Hamas rep­res­ent­er­er også et sik­ker­hets­prob­lem, med sine Iran-kon­takt­er og til­knyt­ning til Det mus­lim­ske Bror­skap.

Dis­se be­kym­ring­e­ne er fort­satt gyl­dige. Spørs­mål­et blir der­for om Egypt be­veg­er seg i islam­ist­isk ret­n­ing.

The numbers were not overwhelming, and the atmosphere was subdued. There was no ceremony to mark the milestone. There were enough seats in the waiting area at customs for those present, and some bag handlers sat waiting for work.

Egypt’s military rulers announced earlier this week that they would permanently open the crossing, the only official entry point into the impoverished Palestinian territory outside of Israel.

Since the militant group Hamas came to control the Gaza Strip in 2007, the Rafah crossing has been closed during large stretches. Until now, Palestinians who crossed, most of them students and those traveling for medical treatment, needed special permission.

Egypt kept the border closed or tightly controlled over the past five years, bowing to Israeli concerns that militants could use it to smuggle weapons into Gaza.

Egypt opens Gaza border crossing, easing 4-year blockade