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Update on Rafah closure: Referral of Patients from the Gaza Strip 17 February 2011

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SUMMARY: Two weeks after the closure of Rafah crossing

- Rafah border crossing with Egypt has remained closed as of 30 January 2011. No patients from the Gaza Strip have been able to travel to Egypt since that date.

- Prior to the closure, as many as 600 patients crossed through Rafah each month. The impact of the closure is felt most acutely by young men because they face problems obtaining Israeli-issued permits to cross through Erez.

- A young man accompanying his sick sister in an ambulance was arrested at Erez checkpoint on 15 February.