Egypt opens Gaza border as Palestinians plan protests against Israel

Egypt on Thursday opened its largely sealed border with the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip for three days, on the eve of more planned protests against Israel, AFP reported, citing Palestinian authorities. In the fourth such opening this year, the Rafah crossing to Egypt’s Sinai region will be open until Saturday for humanitarian cases, according to the Interior Ministry in Gaza. The opening comes ahead of a third consecutive Friday of planned mass protests along the Gaza-Israel border. Israeli media said Egypt, one of only two Arab countries to have signed a peace treaty with the Jewish state, had been negotiating with Gaza’s Islamist rulers, Hamas, to seek to calm the crisis.