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Wounded Palestinians lying next to the Erez Border Crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. (AP)
Last update - 23:41 19/06/2007
Court: State must do all it can to save lives at Erez Border Crossing
By Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondents and Reuters

The High Court of Justice instructed the state Tuesday to immediately do everything it can in order to help wounded Palestinians stranded at the Erez Border Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

"Everything that can be done in order to save lives should be done today," said the court.

One Palestinian was killed Monday evening and at least 10 others were injured when a gunman attacked a group of Palestinian civilians waiting for permission to cross into Israel near the Erez Crossing.

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A three-justice panel will hold an emergency hearing Wednesday morning to discuss a petition filed by Doctors for Human Rights, calling on Israel to immediately open the Erez Border Crossing to wounded and sick Palestinians for the purpose of medical treatment.

The justices ordered the state prosecution to prepare a response in the name of the Israel Defense Forces by Wednesday's hearing.

Roughly 190 Palestinians are currently camped out at Erez, requesting permission to pass through Israel to the West Bank. They are receiving food and water from Israel, which is being distributed by Palestinians who work for the Israel Defense Forces' District Coordination Office (DCO).

Magen David Adom ambulances entered the Palestinian side of the Erez Border Crossing along the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in order to evacuate seven Palestinians who were wounded in Monday's shooting attack at the crossing.

The wounded were brought to Israel following a security check, and taken to Assaf Harofeh and Ichilov hospitals. Most of them are listed as being lightly wounded.

Four other Palestinians were treated at the scene by MDA medics.

The Israel Defense Forces had initially prevented the ambulances from reaching the Palestinian side of the crossing, citing concerns that Palestinians would take advantage of the situation and try to infiltrate into Israel.

A DCO official at Erez said it appears that Hamas no longer represents a threat to the refugees, who have been camped out at the crossing since Saturday, adding that the refugees can return home.

According to the source, Hamas militants have entered the area of the crossing known as the "sleeve" on several occasions in recent days in order to search for Fatah members.

"At the checkpoints it set up, Hamas had laptop computers with the names of Fatah members marked with a star," said the source. "A red star means a death sentence, a blue star means being shot in order to be left handicapped, and a black star means arrest."

Twelve trucks carrying food and medical supplies from the United Nations World Food Program rolled into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday - the first time goods have been shipped from Israel into the coastal strip since Islamic militants seized control there late last week.

Ten trucks of food and two trucks of medical supplies went through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday, according to military spokesman Shlomo Dror and officials from the World Food Program. The UN agency ordinarily feeds 250,000 people in poverty-stricken Gaza.

Barring any interference from Hamas, Dror said, aid would continue to enter Gaza from Israel in the coming days.

IDF tanks crossed into the Gaza crossing Monday, where 150 Palestinians have been trapped while trying to flee from the territory since Hamas took it over.

An IDF spokesman said the tanks entered Gaza to protect the crossing, where a gunmen from Gaza shot dead a security officer loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and wounded several others on Monday.

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh crossed over to the Palestinian side of the Erez Border Crossing in the dead of the night Sunday, in order to help Palestinians flee to Israel, Channel 10 television reported Tuesday.

According to the report, Sneh entered along with a combat unit in order to select a group of Fatah officials, that Israel allowed to move to the West Bank in order to escape Hamas' rule.

Egypt: 70 Fatah security men enter Egypt from Gaza overnight
Dozens of Fatah loyalists, including security men, entered Egypt from Gaza overnight fearing they may be targeted by Hamas Islamists who have seized control of the coastal strip, Egyptian security officials said on
Tuesday.

They said about 70 men were found by border agents on the Egyptian side of the Gaza-Egypt frontier on Monday night, and that some were police officers with their weapons.

More than 340 Palestinians have now taken refuge in Egypt since last week's Hamas takeover of Gaza, while 108 others have returned to Gaza after Hamas agreed to re-admit them provided they left their guns in Egypt, the officials said.

"Palestinian policemen and civilians entered Egypt via a border point north of the Salaheddin gate and have been transported to central security camps in Rafah," an Egyptian security official in north Sinai said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

Another security official said negotiations were under way to transfer the Palestinians currently in Egypt via Jordan to the West Bank, where
Abbas' Fatah movement has retained its sway.

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  1.   Our tanks are meant for Gaza, roll em in! 13:49  |  Randale 19/06/07
  2.   Finally a move in the right direction 14:36  |  Gili 19/06/07
  3.   Beware of "Trojan Horse"..let Egypt absorb them 14:49  |  The Equalizer 19/06/07
  4.   Did they collect the injured? 14:58  |  Nik Miller 19/06/07
  5.   The way it is 14:58  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  6.   One more example: Conflict forces Israel to become "evil" 15:39  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  7.   THE ARABS SHOULD LOOK IN THE MIRROR 15:58  |  TALI 19/06/07
  8.   Violating borders again? 16:12  |  Tim 19/06/07
  9.   Martin: correction 16:22  |  Rufus 19/06/07
  10.   Tim, what do you mean by "this" 16:22  |  bbl 19/06/07
  11.   to Swiss (Dino)#3 16:23  |  Ilya 19/06/07
  12.   Gunman on a bicycle 16:25  |  Michelle 19/06/07
  13.   Swiss Dino -- your conclusion has nothing to do with the facts 16:28  |  bbl 19/06/07
  14.   IDF is a criminal organization 16:33  |  mehmet 19/06/07
  15.   See Bradley Burston`s column 16:35  |  Mark Lincoln 19/06/07
  16.   Dino # 6 16:36  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  17.   I totally agree with Tim,Israel should leave the wounded pals to 16:42  |  Absolute Sweden 19/06/07
  18.   Typical Haaretz picture and story 16:44  |  Avrum 19/06/07
  19.   Dino: Is Your Point That Israel Should Not 16:47  |  Brad 19/06/07
  20.   Tim Moron - Hizzbullah Kidnapped Israelis 16:49  |  Jane 19/06/07
  21.   fuel, water, electricity, supplies, now ambulances 16:54  |  Jake 19/06/07
  22.   Swiss Dino, not at all clear what on earth you are talking about 16:56  |  Jake 19/06/07
  23.   Stop press! 16:57  |  Rufus 19/06/07
  24.   Tim`s humorous definition of violating borders 17:00  |  Jake 19/06/07
  25.   Tim is blind in one eye 17:03  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  26.   One More Example that Swiss (Dino) is a Dumb (Ass) 17:06  |  Tex 19/06/07
  27.   What`s bugging you now, Dino? #6 17:10  |  William 19/06/07
  28.   Swiss-- the Swiss are evil 17:10  |  Gina 19/06/07
  29.   TO #6 SWISS DINO THE CHOCOLATE PRODUCER 17:10  |  MOSHEH 19/06/07
  30.   Nick #4 - they did attend to the injured 17:13  |  William 19/06/07
  31.   What if Israel wouldn t exist at all? 17:14  |  Cristina 19/06/07
  32.   To Mehmet #14: How About Letting Kurds In w/out Restriction? 17:15  |  Ibn Boo-Boo 19/06/07
  33.   # 9 Rufus (1) 17:18  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  34.   Mark Lincoln, read the headlines and weep 17:22  |  Jake 19/06/07
  35.   bbl, MDA did treat the wounded Pals, though 17:24  |  Jake 19/06/07
  36.   # 9 Rufus (2) 17:25  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  37.   This really happened 17:27  |  Polybios 19/06/07
  38.   Swiss 17:31  |  Polybios 19/06/07
  39.   Refugees 17:31  |  A mother 19/06/07
  40.   # 11 Ilya ???? 17:33  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  41.   #14 MEHMET. SOME DETAILS ABOUT THE CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY ? 17:37  |  MOSHEH 19/06/07
  42.   #14 MEHMET. SOME DETAILS ABOUT THE CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY ? 17:37  |  MOSHEH 19/06/07
  43.   #8 Tim 17:38  |  Sol 19/06/07
  44.   # 13 bbl 17:43  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  45.   Your ilk needs to read past the headlines! 17:45  |  Tim 19/06/07
  46.   stay out 17:48  |  Paul Freedman 19/06/07
  47.   Jake fuel, water, don`t forget fertilizer, need it for Kassam 17:51  |  Vino Veritas 19/06/07
  48.   # 16 Chanah S 17:54  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  49.   # 19 Brad 17:56  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  50.   INDRAJAYA! CLICKFOOL! WHERE ARE YOU? 17:57  |  MOSHEH 19/06/07
  51.   Dino # 31 18:06  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  52.   # 27 William 18:08  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  53.   MEHMET # 14 18:10  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  54.   "A mother", you are right, and if you had any humanity... 18:11  |  Jake 19/06/07
  55.   # 28 Gina, the "moralist" from L.A....... 18:11  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  56.   Dino to bbl 18:13  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  57.   Tanky Tim 18:14  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  58.   Martin, cheese, chocolates & the MDA.... 18:16  |  Rufus 19/06/07
  59.   # 29 MOSHE 18:17  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  60.   # 48 Dino 18:18  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  61.   To #4 Nik Miller 18:21  |  RightClick 19/06/07
  62.   swiss dino 18:22  |  bev 19/06/07
  63.   Dino # 52 and also by the way 18:23  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  64.   Swiss the morally evil 18:29  |  Gina 19/06/07
  65.   Thanks for the admission Channah 18:32  |  Tim 19/06/07
  66.   8. Tim: Violating borders 18:33  |  KUTW 19/06/07
  67.   # 38 Polybios Yes, praise indeed !! 18:34  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  68.   SWISS DINO RECOGNIZED HIS ERROR. BRAVO! 18:35  |  MOSHEH 19/06/07
  69.   Tim 18:40  |  Gina 19/06/07
  70.   Tim # 65 - 18:49  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  71.   Dino # 67 18:50  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  72.   Jane, Blinded 18:59  |  Bernie 19/06/07
  73.   The Canadian Tim, a fighter for true justice. 19:00  |  Ed 19/06/07
  74.   Swiss (#67?) 19:02  |  Polybios 19/06/07
  75.   Good Idea 19:02  |  Mark Lincoln 19/06/07
  76.   SWISS DINO, YOU IMAGINE IN A WRONG WAY… 19:04  |  MOSHEH 19/06/07
  77.   Mark Lincoln - it also never hurts 19:06  |  ChanahS 19/06/07
  78.   Tim - in accurate 19:07  |  Gina 19/06/07
  79.   Dino #52 - actually this speaks volume about critics here 19:10  |  William 19/06/07
  80.   Swiss (Dino) 19:10  |  Gil 19/06/07
  81.   Mehmet #14 - will you hold blame for Jordan and Syria, too? 19:17  |  William 19/06/07
  82.   # 62 bev 19:20  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/07
  83.   A bleeding heart mother #39 19:24  |  William