Tens of Thousands Cross Downed Gaza Wall
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tens of Thousands Cross Downed Gaza Wall*
By IBRAHIM BARZAK,
Associated Press Writer AP
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured from the
Gaza Strip into Egypt Wednesday after masked gunmen with explosives
destroyed most of the seven-mile wall dividing the border town of Rafah.
The Gazans crossed on foot, in cars or riding donkey carts to buy
supplies made scarce by an Israeli blockade of their impoverished
territory. Police from the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza,
directed the traffic. Egyptian border guards took no action.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said Israel has no forces
on the Gaza-Egypt border and, "therefore it is the responsibility of
Egypt to ensure that the border operates properly, according to the
signed agreements."
"We expect the Egyptians to solve the problem," Mekel said. "Obviously
we are worried about the situation. It could potentially allow anybody
to enter."
Israeli defense officials said they were concerned Hamas could use the
opening of the border to bring weapons and ammunition into Gaza. They
spoke on condition of anonymity because the defense ministry had issued
no official statement.
The gunmen began breaching the wall dividing Rafah before dawn,
according to witnesses and Hamas officials. A total of 17 explosions
destroyed the Rafah wall Wednesday, Hamas security officials said. The
officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of
the matter, said they were allowing Palestinians to move freely through
two gaps.
The identity of the gunmen who breached the border was not immediately
clear. But Hamas expressed support for the move, saying that, "Blowing
up the border wall with Egypt is a reflection of the ... catastrophic
situation which the Palestinian people in Gaza are living through due to
the blockade."
Thousands of Gazans began crossing into Egypt and returning with milk,
cigarettes and plastic bottles of fuel.
Two-thirds of the Rafah wall had been demolished by 10 a.m. and the
crowd of Palestinians crossing into Egypt swelled into the tens of
thousands.
The destruction continued as Palestinians used a bulldozer to tear down
a section of low concrete wall topped with barbed wire to allow easier
access for cars.
By late morning, Palestinians across Gaza were trying to reach the
border, pushing to board buses, piling into the backs of pickup trucks.
However, shops on the Egyptian side had sold most of their wares.
Mohammed Abu Ghazel, 29, said he had crossed the border three times. He
bought cigarettes worth $53 in Egypt and sold them for five times that
in Gaza, he said.
"This can feed my family for a month," he said.
Guards directed the crowds over the fallen metal through two main
crossing areas, inspecting some bags. One man returning to Gaza carried
seven pistols that were confiscated by Hamas police. Others walked
unhindered over the piles of scrap metal that once made up the border wall.
Gazan Ibrahim Abu Taha, 45, a father of seven, was in the Egyptian
section of Rafah with his two brothers and $185 in his pocket. "We want
to buy food, we want to buy rice and sugar, milk and wheat and some
cheese," Abu Taha said in a telephone interview, adding that he would
also buy cheap Egyptian cigarettes.
Abu Taha said he could get such basic foods in Gaza, but at three times
the cost.
An off-duty Hamas security officer who identified himself as Abdel
Rahman, 29, said this was his first time out of Gaza.
"I can smell the freedom," he said. "We need no border after today."
The territory had been cut off from the world since June, when Hamas
seized power in Gaza by force, and Gazans are facing critical shortages
of electricity, fuel and other supplies.
Palestinians used explosives to break through the border on several
occasions after Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in September 2005,
and Gaza militants used the breaches to smuggle weapons and people through.
In the past, Egyptian security forces restored order after hours or days.
The latest and largest breach came on the sixth day of a complete
closure of Gaza, imposed by Israel and backed by Egypt, in response to a
spike in Gaza rocket attacks on Israeli border towns.
Egypt has largely kept its border with Gaza closed since the Hamas
takeover, amid concerns of a spillover of Hamas-style militancy into Egypt.
However, Hamas has orchestrated daily demonstrations on the Gaza-Egypt
border in an apparent attempt to appeal to Arab public opinion and
pressure Egypt to open the passage.
On Tuesday, Israel eased the closure slightly, transferring fuel to
restart Gaza's only power plant, and also sent in some cooking gas, food
and medicine. Israel has pledged to continue limited shipments because
of concerns that a humanitarian crisis could develop in the already
impoverished coastal territory.
Dozens of residents gathered at the border waiting to cross after the
first explosions Wednesday, witnesses reported. Hamas forces gathered on
the scene and prevented people from getting through. On the other side,
Egyptian forces focused spotlights on breaks in the wall and deployed
troops to block any infiltration attempts from Gaza, the witnesses said.
But by morning thousands of Gazans had massed at the border, and
overwhelmed police began letting people cross. Most Egyptian security
and police officers were later pulled out from the immediate vicinity of
the border, Egyptian security officials said on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the issue. They did not explain why the
officers had been withdrawn.
Governments, aid agencies and the U.N. have issued urgent appeals for an
end to the Israeli closure of Gaza. Israel's Defense Ministry ruled late
Tuesday that 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel will be transferred into Gaza
daily, but the crossings will remain closed to other goods and people
until further notice.
A Hamas militant was killed in a clash early Wednesday with Israeli
forces near the closed Sufa crossing into Gaza, Palestinian officials
said. The Israeli military said soldiers exchanged fire with Palestinian
militants in the area.
_____
Associated Press Writer Ashraf Sweilam contributed to this report from
Rafah, Egypt.