Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Reclosing border debated

As Gazans stock up on supplies, Egyptians warn that the freedom will end soon.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Egyptian border guards wielding clubs and electric prods directed throngs of Palestinians as they crossed into Egypt for a second day Thursday, but made little attempt to block the flow from Gaza.

Still, Egyptian officials warned the Gazans' brief bliss of freedom, shopping and visiting relatives will soon come to an end with the resealing of the border.

For the second day in a row, scenes of frenzy, chaos and joy played out at the Gaza-Egypt border. Guards channeled crowds through a handful of openings, where Palestinians pushed, shouted and jostled their way into Egypt, braving a gauntlet of cows, camels, fertilizer, food and truckloads of cement.

Dozens of Hamas militants dressed in black stood on the Gaza side of the border, in front of the fallen wall, checking people's bags and packages for weapons, drugs and other prohibited items as they re-entered Gaza.

As the presence of Egyptian and Hamas security forces grew, so did the crowds as Gazans sought to stock up on basic supplies before Egypt made good on its word to reseal the frontier.

The issue turned into a verbal spat between Egypt and Israel when Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said Israel gradually wants to relinquish responsibility for Gaza, now that the territory's border with Egypt has been blown open.

Egypt angrily rejected that idea and said it would not change border arrangements.

"The border will go back as normal," said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki. "The current situation is only an exception and for temporary reasons."

Egypt has not yet indicated how it plans to reseal the border, though it began positioning armored vehicles Thursday along sections of the breached 7-mile frontier.

Egypt presumably would need Hamas' cooperation in securing the border, but Hamas official Salah Bardawil said the torn-down wall need not be replaced. Instead, he said, Egypt should reinforce a smaller border fence that already exists on its side.

Hamas has used the breach - carefully planned, with militants weakening the metal wall with blow torches about a month before blowing it up with a series of blasts - to push its demand for reopening the border passages, this time with Hamas involvement. Such an arrangement would in effect end the international sanctions against the Islamic militants.

However, Egypt would likely be reluctant to have an open border with a territory ruled by Islamic militants - despite the fact that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been under intense public pressure at home in recent days to alleviate the suffering of Gazans under blockade.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who visited Israel on Thursday, said that while Hamas was to blame for Gaza's shortages, it was up to Egypt to restore order at the frontier.

"We have great sympathy for the thousands of Palestinian civilians who have suffered because of this crisis," Burns told reporters in Jerusalem. "We see the residents of Gaza as victims of the poor leadership of Hamas."

FAST FACTS: 

Military condemned

The U.N. Human Rights Council on Thursday condemned Israeli military action in Gaza and the West Bank. The resolution, which also demands the lifting of the blockade on Gaza and calls for international action to protect Palestinian civilians, was proposed by Arab and Muslim countries and passed by 30 votes in favor, one against (Canada) and 15 abstentions, during an emergency session of the 47-member council.

[Last modified January 25, 2008, 00:18:38]