Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    GAZA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Tuesday reopened Rafah border crossing point for three days to allow hundreds of stranded Palestinians to cross into Egypt, a Hamas government official statement said.

    The interior ministry of the deposed Hamas unity government in Gaza said in a statement that Egypt reopened its border crossing for hundreds of Palestinian travelers to cross into Egypt.

    Those who will be allowed to cross from Gaza into Egypt are Palestinians who need urgent medical treatments as well as Palestinians who hold other nationalities and citizenships, the statement said.

    Earlier in the day, Egypt announced that the Rafah border crossing will be opened for three days. The first two days will be open for those who want to cross from Gaza into Egypt, and the third will be for those who return from Egypt into Gaza.

    After Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June last year, Israel closed down all crossing points including Rafah border crossing, except for humanitarian cases in some occasions.

    Israel refuses to reopen Rafah crossing until the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas and two other militant groups inGaza two years ago.

    Egypt wants to reopen the crossing in line with a U.S. brokered agreement reached in 2005, which places Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' presidential guard forces in charge of security at the crossing in addition to European Union (EU) monitors.

    The two parties left the crossing following Hamas bloody takeover of Gaza. After it took control of the Gaza Strip, Hamas also insisted that it should have presence at the crossing.