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Coach JewelryEl-Aseel restaurant - which translates as Original or Pure in Arabic -- is

tucked away on the third floor of a run-down building in the Egyptian border-town of Rafah, minutes from Gaza.

Moustafa, 22, wearing an Adidas jumpsuit, stands in the smoldering kitchen preparing chicken. He explains: "We are a border city, divided by two sides, so in

a way we're both Palestinian and Egyptian. If you go up on the roof, you'll see Gaza. It's very close, but very far."

I spent four days in Rafah and nearby cities to see how places far from the revolutionary Tahrir Square are grappling with life in Egypt now that former

President Hosni Mubarak is gone.

replica coach handbagsRafah -- an isolated town right on the border with Gaza -- now finds itself in the

eye of the change sweeping the region, socially and economically if not geographically.

Egypt to open Gaza border crossing at Rafah

As old autocracies crumble, how will lives change on the streets and how will new rulers handle one of the biggest questions in the Middle East -- the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Rafah is one of only two official entry and exit points -- the other is in Israel -- for human traffic into Hamas-ruled Gaza, but since a 2007 blockade

supported by Mubarak, the impoverished town has thrived on tunnel-onomics -- an extensive underground system of smuggling goods into Gaza.

hermes birkin handbagsWith talk of Egyptian plans to open the border with Gaza permanently, that trade is

now compromised, leaving smugglers with mixed feelings of hope for Palestinians, but anxiety over losing money.

Gaza, home to an estimated 1.5 million people, has been under an Israeli blockade since June 2007, when Hamas -- which sweeped Palestinian parliamentary

elections in 2006 but are also deemed a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, and the European Union -- militarily forced supporters of the

rival Fatah group from the strip.

Rafah's closed border crossing is a strikingly tangible symbol of former Mubarak's Israel-allied regime, but after revolutionary protests toppled him, recent

events have led some to forecast a possible sea change in Egypt's foreign policy.

Earlier this month, Egypt successfully brokered a reconciliation deal between the Islamist group Hamas and Fatah, who are considered more mainstream, or

moderate, by the West.

Nike outletAnd in April, the Egyptian government temporarily reopened the Rafah terminal, with foreign minister

Nabil al-Araby saying the decision to seal it off was "shameful."

He said then the opening would soon be permanent. Alla Iraqi, an Egyptian Armed Forces spokesman, told CNN on Wednesday the border will open permanently on

May 28.

Two weeks ago, the Arab world commemorated Nakba, what Arabs call "the catastrophe" when thousands of Palestinians were dispelled from their lands or fled as

a result of the creation of Israel in 1948.

In Al-Arish, a town near Rafah which is also home to many Palestinians, hundreds rallied, chanting: "To Jerusalem we go, millions and martyrs."

During the protest, resident Ahmed Baqi, 23, said: "We must use our new platform to extend a hand to Palestinians. It's our fight, too."

Large protests were planned in Rafah but the Egyptian military blocked demonstrators from entering the Sinai Peninsula.

Amid rising demands from Egyptians for the state to cool its relations with Israel, the military crackdown angered demonstrators in Cairo, who staged

protests at the Israeli embassy. Coach Totes Bags Ensuing clashes left 350 people

injured.

Sitting in a gated security compound in Rafah, a military lieutenant who asked not to be named, said: "Egypt cannot afford an escalating situation right

now."

He said activists were wrongly prioritizing the Israeli-Palestinian issue over Egypt's poor economy and rising sectarian tensions.

"It's not the time to help our neighbors ... and it's not the time to aggravate Israel," he said.