Posted by Sikander Hayat with thanks to FT.com
By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem and Heba Saleh in Cairo
Published: January 23 2008 11:44 | Last updated: January 23 2008 12:18
Tens of thousands of Palestinians on Wednesday made a brief escape from the poverty and violence that has engulfed the Gaza Strip, after militants blew up vast sections of the barrier separating the embattled territory from Egypt.
Egyptian border guards and police watched but did not intervene as the Palestinians crossed freely in cars, on foot and in donkey carts– in contrast to the previous day, when clashes between Gazans and Egyptian police had left about 60 wounded.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
UN urges Israel to rethink Gaza strategy - Jan-22Israel eases Gaza blockade - Jan-22Israel closes crossings with Gaza - Jan-18Israeli coalition begins to crumble - Jan-16Heightened violence in Gaza after Bush visit - Jan-15Diary: Bush in the Mideast - Jan-16The Egyptian security services are reported to have closed off roads leading out of Rafah to ensure that the Gazans stayed within the town.
Several hours after the start of the influx, Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, broke the silence in Cairo saying that he had ordered his troops to allow the Palestinians to cross because they were starving. “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.
Mr Mubarak also criticised Hamas for continuing to fire rockets at Israel from Gaza.
The nightly raid destroyed two thirds of the border fence with Egypt, and dealt a severe blow to Israel’s attempt to keep the strip in total isolation from the outside world.
Israel last week closed all crossings in to the territory, a move that forced the Gaza authorities to temporarily shut down the territory’s only power station and triggered wide-spread warnings of a humanitarian crisis for the 1.5m Palestinians living in the crowded coastal strip.
Israel partially retracted the sanctions later in the week, and since Tuesday limited supplies of fuel, food and medicine have been allowed to pass into Gaza. However, the territory has already been plunged into a severe economic crisis due to Israel’s severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza that were put in place after Hamas, the Islamist group, seized control there in June last year.
Since then, Israel has progressively tightened to sanctions on Gaza, in an effort to increase the pressure on Hamas and stop the daily barrage of rockets launched by Gaza-based militants on nearby Israeli cities.
According to news agency reports from Gaza, tens of thousands of residents streamed across the breaches into Egypt, many returning with products such as milk, cigarettes and fuel – goods that have become very expensive in the territory, if they are available at all.
Hamas voiced support for the action, though it did not claim credit for the destruction of the barrier. In a statement, the group said: ”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.”
The Palestinian influx places Egypt in a dilemma because while the Cairo government would like to continue to pressure Hamas, public opinion is deeply sympathetic to the suffering of the Gazans.
The incident is likely to infuriate Israel and further strain relations with Egypt. The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it was Egypt’s responsibility to restore order to “ensure that the border is functioning in accordance with signed agreements”.
Israel argues that the border between Egypt and Gaza is the main conduit for weapons-smuggling, and has repeatedly attacked Egypt for its alleged failure to stop the flow of arms.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem and Heba Saleh in Cairo
Published: January 23 2008 11:44 | Last updated: January 23 2008 12:18
Tens of thousands of Palestinians on Wednesday made a brief escape from the poverty and violence that has engulfed the Gaza Strip, after militants blew up vast sections of the barrier separating the embattled territory from Egypt.
Egyptian border guards and police watched but did not intervene as the Palestinians crossed freely in cars, on foot and in donkey carts– in contrast to the previous day, when clashes between Gazans and Egyptian police had left about 60 wounded.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
UN urges Israel to rethink Gaza strategy - Jan-22Israel eases Gaza blockade - Jan-22Israel closes crossings with Gaza - Jan-18Israeli coalition begins to crumble - Jan-16Heightened violence in Gaza after Bush visit - Jan-15Diary: Bush in the Mideast - Jan-16The Egyptian security services are reported to have closed off roads leading out of Rafah to ensure that the Gazans stayed within the town.
Several hours after the start of the influx, Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, broke the silence in Cairo saying that he had ordered his troops to allow the Palestinians to cross because they were starving. “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.
Mr Mubarak also criticised Hamas for continuing to fire rockets at Israel from Gaza.
The nightly raid destroyed two thirds of the border fence with Egypt, and dealt a severe blow to Israel’s attempt to keep the strip in total isolation from the outside world.
Israel last week closed all crossings in to the territory, a move that forced the Gaza authorities to temporarily shut down the territory’s only power station and triggered wide-spread warnings of a humanitarian crisis for the 1.5m Palestinians living in the crowded coastal strip.
Israel partially retracted the sanctions later in the week, and since Tuesday limited supplies of fuel, food and medicine have been allowed to pass into Gaza. However, the territory has already been plunged into a severe economic crisis due to Israel’s severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza that were put in place after Hamas, the Islamist group, seized control there in June last year.
Since then, Israel has progressively tightened to sanctions on Gaza, in an effort to increase the pressure on Hamas and stop the daily barrage of rockets launched by Gaza-based militants on nearby Israeli cities.
According to news agency reports from Gaza, tens of thousands of residents streamed across the breaches into Egypt, many returning with products such as milk, cigarettes and fuel – goods that have become very expensive in the territory, if they are available at all.
Hamas voiced support for the action, though it did not claim credit for the destruction of the barrier. In a statement, the group said: ”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.”
The Palestinian influx places Egypt in a dilemma because while the Cairo government would like to continue to pressure Hamas, public opinion is deeply sympathetic to the suffering of the Gazans.
The incident is likely to infuriate Israel and further strain relations with Egypt. The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it was Egypt’s responsibility to restore order to “ensure that the border is functioning in accordance with signed agreements”.
Israel argues that the border between Egypt and Gaza is the main conduit for weapons-smuggling, and has repeatedly attacked Egypt for its alleged failure to stop the flow of arms.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving comments. You are making this discussion richer and more beneficial to everyone. Do not hold back.