Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says his government would be ready to accept the joint control of the Rafah crossing.

"We can operate the crossing on the basis of an internal political partnership and an Egyptian-Palestinian partnership, with the presence of Europeans, Egyptians, the Palestinian president's office and the Palestinian government," Haniyeh said in a news conference on Saturday.

"The issue of the Rafah crossing has always been on the table in internal Palestinian negotiations, and we are discussing it with our brothers in Egypt," the premier added.

The crossing, which remains closed most of the time thanks to the Egyptian government's collaboration with Tel Aviv, is Gaza's only border that bypasses Israel.

Even during Israel's all-out three-week-long war on the Gaza Strip, Cairo failed to authorize the opening of the border-crossing -- a move which could have gravely reduced the number of Palestinian casualties.

"We still believe that closing the terminal was a mistake from both an international and pan-Arab perspective because the suffering of Gaza residents is extreme -- words cannot describe it," said Haniyeh.

Earlier on Saturday, Cairo opened the crossing to let Palestinian patients cross the border for medical treatment. The crossing will remain open for only three days.

SB/SME/MMN