Last update - 00:00 21/07/2007
Erekat: Explore all options for bringing Palestinians stranded in Egypt home
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Palestine Liberation Organization chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said over the weekend that all options must be examined for resolving the issue of thousands of Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
In an interview with the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, Erekat said the Palestinians, who have been stuck in Egypt since the crossing was closed following Hamas' takeover of Gaza, could be allowed into the West Bank through the Amman airport or the Uja crossing in the Jordan Valley.
Erekat said he personally asked Egypt's Assistant Intelligence Chief Mohammed Ibrahim to reopen the crossing, saying his request was denied on the grounds that Egypt cannot reopen the crossing without Israel's consent.
On Tuesday, however, Haaretz reported that Palestinian sources said PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas asked Israel and Egypt to prevent the movement of people from Egypt to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, after Hamas' mid-June takeover of the coastal strip.
The sources said that Abbas said if the crossing is opened, Hamas will be able to let in thousands of people without supervision into Gaza - including activists who could strengthen the group, which rival Abbas' Fatah movement.
The sources added that Abbas and a number of his aides asked that the request not be made public.
Egypt opened shelters on Thursday to house hundreds of the Palestinians stranded at the closed border with the Gaza Strip for fear that some could resort to sleeping on the streets, an Egyptian official said.
Border guards and police patrolling the Egyptian border were put on alert over concern that Palestinians in Gaza would blow holes in a border wall to allow those stranded to return home.
The Egyptian Red Crescent estimates that roughly 5,000 Palestinians are stranded in dusty Egyptian towns in north Sinai. Many of those have been living in cramped, low-budget hotel rooms or sleeping on mats on the floor in bare concrete shelters as their money runs out.
About 2,000 people protested at the Rafah border terminal on Thursday, demanding the crossing be opened to allow the Palestinians to return to Gaza.
Egyptian officials are divided over whether the crossing should be reopened, with several intelligence officials saying Egypt should cooperate with Hamas and reopen the crossing. Egyptian embassy officials in Tel Aviv are opposed to the move.
The debate in Egypt over the issue is tied to the wider question regarding whether Egypt should renew ties with the Hamas government in Gaza. While some support the move, others fear it will only weaken Abbas.