Palestinians open Gaza gateway to the world

"It is a dream come true for us to be here to celebrate the reopening of the Rafah terminal as a free crossing between us and our brothers in Egypt," Abbas told an official ceremony packed with Palestinian and foreign dignitaries.

Under EU supervision, the transit route will open up the world to the Gaza Strip's 1.3 million largely impoverished residents, after fears the territory would be transformed into a "giant prison" after a 38-year Israeli occupation.

Palestinian officials hope that a fully functioning border will help kickstart a desperately depressed economy overly dependent on Israel and help bring down unemployment that has soared to almost 40 percent in recent months.

When the crossing starts processing people on Saturday, it will be the first time the Gaza-Egypt terminal is operated without direct Israeli control since a border crossing was established after Israel signed a peace deal with Egypt in 1979.

Speaking to AFP after the ceremony, Abbas said the reopening of the terminal would be a "great joy" to the Palestinian people.

"This is an excellent step that gives our people back part of their freedom and we hope it will lead to the country's freedom and the creation of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital," he added Friday.

Joined by the EU special envoy to the Middle East, Marc Otte, and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Abbas cut a ribbon in the main passenger terminal before symbolically handing over his passport to an official.

Outside, white banners were emblazoned with the words in Arabic "The Palestine gate to freedom" and "Rafah border: the beginning of hope".

Otte said that the move would help transform borders into bridges, not just between Gaza and its Arab neighbours but also to Israel.

"What happens today is a first step towards better growth for the Palestinian economy ... and for the movement of more people and goods inside the Palestinian territories and outside," he said.

Israel closed the terminal on September 7, five days before its troops left the territory. Following chaos at the border and unhindered crossings in the days following the pullout, Rafah has since opened only intermittently.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brokered a deal on November 15 that will see EU monitors oversee security at Rafah by being given real-time access to closed circuit television footage.

Despite the Islamist fundamentalist movement's rivalry with Abbas's ruling Fatah party, set to come to a head in parliamentary elections in January, the Gaza-based Hamas leader Mahmud Zahar also attended the ceremony.

He called the reopening of the terminal a "Palestinian victory" despite reservations about the EU mission and Israeli access to surveillance footage.

In his speech, Abbas reiterated that the elections would take place as scheduled on January 25, dismissing any question of a possible delay.

Condemning Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank and the building of the separation barrier by Israel, he said that the Palestinians would not accept anything less than a future state as laid out in the roadmap peace plan.

"We want the roadmap to be implemented. We are asking for nothing more but we will accept nothing less," he added.

Outside, dozens of Palestinian flags fluttered in the breeze as a crowd of hopeful travellers, curious onlookers and hordes of excitable children massed.

"We have to wait and see if opening the border helps the economy. People here are still very poor," sighed Ibrahim Senna, a 42-year-old tailor from Rafah, clutching the hand of his eight-year-old son.

But despite Friday's ceremony, officials have said Rafah will only open for business for a paltry four hours from Saturday, with opening hours increased once the EU mission, eventually to number 70 people, is bolstered.

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