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Egyptian soldiers hard-pressed to stop the crowds seeking exit. In the end, they gave way.
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| By Israel Insider staff January 23, 2008 |
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| Mobs press to leave Gaza (Flash90) |
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Palestinian gunmen blew holes in the wall near Rafah on the Egyptian border, and hundreds of thousands of Gazans poured into Egypt to buy food, fuel and other supplies that have become scarce since Israel imposed a tight closure in response to escalated rocket attacks on its territory.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced Wednesday that he had ordered his troops to allow Palestinians to cross into Egypt from the Gaza Strip. "I told them to let them come in and eat and buy food and then return them later as long as they were not carrying weapons," he said, in answer to reporters' questions. Mubarak said that his border guards originally had forced back the Gazans on Tuesday, but "today a great number of them came back because the Palestinians in Gaza are starving due to the Israeli seige."
Reports say that Mubarak is very worried indeed, as the outpouring of Palestinian has effectively wiped away the border and expanded Palestinian control to include a nice chunk of Sinai beach property in Egypt. The influx of Gazan has reunited the city of Rafah on the Egyptian side of the border, home to some 40,000, now hosting some five times that number of recent arrivals.
But it is clear that Mubarak has no ability to confront or turn back such masses, and therefore he is resigned to preventing further outbreaks in other Egyptian cities. There are reports that Egypt's Palestinian population may be gearing up to support their brethren in the east.
The Americans are worried as well, since it is now clear that the Gaza break-out was a calculated ploy on the eve of the Palestinian National Congress opening today in Damascus. This event was organized by Tehran and Damascus to counter the US-promoted Annapolis conference and discredit West Bank chief Mahmoud Abbas' diplomatic track with Israel under the US aegis. The show of force is design to show Abbas who is boss, and who gets things done.
The Congress was opened by hard-line Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who glorified the demolition of the Gaza-Egyptian border as the greatest Palestinian feat in years.
He declared that an "end to the occupation" in all parts of Palestine must take precedence over Palestinian statehood -- a direct challenge to the Bush administration?s two-state thesis.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her assistant for Mideast affairs David Welch warned Mubarak that he had better act fast to restore border integrity, since Washington's entire Mideast strategy hangs in the balance and would be shattered by the collapse of the Abbas regime, Debkafile reported.
Mubarak urged the feuding Palestinian factions to sit down and talk with each other as their infighting was just what "their enemy" -- a clear reference to Israel -- wanted.
Before dawn Wednesday, Palestinian gunmen began blowing holes in the metal border wall running along the Gaza-Egypt border. Palestinian miltants destroyed about two-thirds of the Gaza-Egypt border wall. Hamas officially denied that its men set off the explosions, but a Hamas border guard interviewed by The Times of London at the border Wednesday admitted that the Islamist group was responsible and had been involved for months in slicing through the heavy metal wall using oxy-acetylene cutting torches.
Egyptian border guards and Hamas police took no action as Palestinians hurried over the border and began returning with bags of food, boxes of cigarettes and plastic bottles of fuel. Hamas security later closed most holes, but left two open and allowed free traffic through those.
The destruction of the border continued later Wednesday morning. Palestinians driving a Caterpillar bulldozer tore down portions of the wall and opened a gap to allow easier access for cars.
Earlier Wednesday, the United Nations estimated the number of Gazans who had crossed into Egypt at 350,000.
Israel is worried about the increasing chaos on the Gaza-Egypt border, and expects Egypt to solve the problem, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel noted Wednesday that Israel has no forces on the Gaza-Egypt border. Therefore, he said, "It is the responsibility of Egypt to ensure that the border operates properly, according to the signed agreements," he said. "We expect the Egyptians to solve the problem. Obviously we are worried about the situation. It could potentially allow anybody to enter." |
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