August 30, 2008

Egypt unilaterally opens the Rafah crossing, allowing some 500 Palestinians to return to Gaza and 1,000 to leave before Ramadan begins; the move is closely coordinated with Hamas, which bars most Gazans fr. reaching the border to prevent a mass exodus, setting up stations to process exit applications, allowing mostly medical cases and Palestinians with foreign work visas to leave. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in villages surrounding Hebron. (WP, WT 8/31; OCHA 9/3; PCHR 9/4)