Nitzana Border Crossing

History

Opened in 1982, the crossing used to handle pedestrians as well as private vehiles, with the majority of the crossing being taking place at the Taba Border Crossing in Eilat and the Rafah Border Crossing in Rafah, Israel decided to close the crossing to tourists. Following Israel's 2005 Gaza disengagement, Israel lost control of the Rafah Broder Crossing, so it examined the possibly of reopening the crossing to tourists.

, the terminal handles only commercial trade between the two nations. The terminal is open from Sunday to Thursday, 8:00 to 17:00. It is closed from Friday to Saturday as well as Jewish and Islamic holidays.

In February 2013, the crossing was named after Aryeh Eliav, who among other things founded the nearby Nitzana Youth Village.

On 2 June 2023, a trooper of the Central Security Forces crossed over the Egypt–Israel border into Israeli territory around the Nitzana Border Crossing, shooting three Israeli soldiers dead and injuring two others before he was killed in a shootout with the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel Gaza war

During the early stages of the Gaza war, the border crossing was used to inspect aid bound for the Gaza Strip. While cargo was inspected at Nitzana, trucks then drove 50 km to the Rafah Border Crossing to enter Gaza from Egypt. On 2 February 2024, Israeli protesters blocked the crossing to prevent humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. On 11 April 2024, the Israeli police arrested protesters at the Nitzana Crossing who tried to block aid from reaching Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Terminals

Egypt

The Egyptian terminal is accessible via the Ismaïlia-Abu Ujaylah highway in Shamal Sina' (North Sinai).

Israel

The Israeli border terminal can be reached via Route 211, which ends at Nitzana Border Crossing, and Highway 10, which passes alongside the crossing. The border terminal can also be reached by Metropoline bus number 44 from Beersheba's central bus station.

References

References

1. "מעבר הגבול ניצנה נקרא על שם לובה אליאב". פורט2פורט.
2. (2023-06-03). "Three Israeli soldiers, Egyptian security officer killed in border gunfire incident".
3. "Egypt, Israel defence ministers discuss border incident; coordinate measures for prevention".
4. (2023-06-03). "Three Israeli soldiers killed along Egyptian border". The Guardian.
5. (10 January 2024). "Just how bad is it in Gaza?". The Economist.
6. "Activists block Nitzana border crossing to prevent entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza".
7. "Right-wing activists block humanitarian aid headed to Gaza for three hours".