Auja crossing between Egypt and Israel closed
Published today (updated) 19/05/2013 13:22
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596980

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) – Egyptian police officers closed the Al-Auja
crossing in central Sinai on Sunday in an expression of solidarity with
their fellow officers at Rafah crossing.

The crossing, south of Rafah, is used to transfer goods between Egypt and
Israel.

Police officers manning the crossing on Sunday morning did not allow trucks
to travel through the terminal in either direction, causing a heavy traffic
jam on both sides.

The closure came as Egyptian police at Rafah shut down that terminal for a
third day in a row after the kidnappings of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai,
officials said.

They are preventing all Palestinians from traveling through the crossing or
leaving the Gaza Strip, the Gaza interior ministry said Sunday.

On Saturday, the Hamas-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that talks were
underway with Egypt to reopen the crossing.

"The ministry of foreign affairs is holding talks with senior officials in
Egypt to re-open the Rafah crossing and ensure the safe return of people
stranded by the closure," deputy foreign minister Ghazi Hamad told Ma'an.

Gaza's Interior Ministry announced a state of alert along its border with
Egypt on Thursday in case the kidnappers tried to smuggle the Egyptian
servicemen into Gaza.

Early Thursday, gunmen ambushed two minibuses in Wadi al-Akhdar, between
el-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid cities, and kidnapped seven Egyptian servicemen
en route to Cairo for their monthly vacation, Egyptian security officials
told Ma'an.