Last update - 00:00 02/09/2007
Teenager killed in Hamas protest to reopen Egypt border
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent and AP
Hamas gunmen opened fire at pro-Hamas protesters at a rally on the Gaza-Egypt border Saturday, killing a teenager and wounding at least nine others, hospital officials said.
Tens of thousands of flag-waving Hamas supporters gathered at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt Saturday to demand it be reopened. The border, Gaza's only gateway to Egypt, has been shut since Hamas' bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip in June.
Hamas gunmen guarding the border fired in the air as hundreds of protesters tried to rush the border terminal and attempted to infiltrate into Egypt.
A 17-year-old was shot in the head and was later pronounced dead, medics said. Eight others were wounded by gunfire and trampling.
Ashraf Abu Daya, one of the rally's organizers, appealed for calm from the crowd.
"There is no need to break into the crossing. The crossing is no longer under the occupation. The crossing is under the control of the Hamas Executive Committee," he said.
The Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June triggered the closure of the border crossing, which had been run by Palestinian security with European supervision and Israeli security in the background.
"We are investigating the incident to determine where the shot came from," a Hamas security spokesman said, referring to the teenager who had been killed.
On Friday, Hamas men violently dispersed a crowd of Fatah protesters, firing in the air and beating demonstrators. Some 20 people were wounded in the clashes, including two French journalists and two children, according to doctors and witnesses. Scores of protesters were arrested.
The violence began at the end of a Fatah prayer session, which was being held outdoors in protest against Hamas, which Fatah says is persecuting its members in Hamas-controlled mosques.
Fatah officials said 170 of their organization's members remained in Hamas custody Saturday. Some of those released emerged from their arrest with their heads shaved - a humiliating gesture.
Hamas said it let go most of those arrested and that only about 20 remained in detention, but demanded a hefty bail for their release.
After the clashes, heavily armed Hamas security agents entered the Associated Press offices in Gaza City and instructed staff not to film or photograph a nearby security-services building from the balcony without prior permission.