Rafah Crossing

Rafah Border Crossing معبر رفح
Crosses	Gaza–Egypt border
Locale	Rafah
Maintained by	IAA (until 2005) EUBAM (2005-2007)
History
Closed	2007
Rafah Border Crossing Location in the Gaza Strip

The Rafah Border Crossing (Arabic: معبر رفح‎ Ma`bar Rafaḥ, Hebrew: מעבר רפיח‎) or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognized by the 1979 Israel–Egypt Peace Treaty. The original crossing point was named Rafah land port. Only passage of persons takes place through the Rafah Border Crossing. All traffic of goods is diverted to the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

The Rafah land port became the primary border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, managed by the Israel Airports Authority until Israel had dismantled its settlements in Gaza on 11 September 2005 as part of a disengagement plan. It subsequently became the task of the European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah (EUBAM) to monitor the crossing. The Rafah land port, known as the "Salah al Din Gate" is located at the original Rafah crossing on the Salah al-Din Road, the main highway of Gaza from Erez to Rafah. Rafah land port was bombed by Israel in October 2009 allegedly to destroy tunnels.

A new "Rafah Crossing Point", also named in Arabic "Al Awda" (The Return), was built south of Rafah.

By the Ottoman–British agreement of 1 October 1906, a boundary between Ottoman ruled Palestine and British ruled Egypt, from Taba to Rafah was agreed upon. From 1948, Gaza was occupied by Egypt. Consequently, a Gaza–Egypt border no longer existed. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel conquered the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt.