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Last update - 23:00 29/01/2008 Egyptians near Gaza grow tired of influx of Palestinians By The Associated Press Tags: Gaza, Israel, Egypt, Hamas Egyptian shopkeeper Safwat Hammad's shelves are empty and he is starting to get fed up - but he is just one of many Egyptians increasingly disgruntled Thursday by the unending influx of Palestinians from Gaza. For a week, Palestinians have flooded in hundreds of thousands into Egypt t Advertisement hrough the breached border separating the country from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, to shop for supplies and stock up on fuel. Hamas militants blew the border open last Wednesday to release the pressure of a six-month Israeli blockade. Egypt has since been struggling to regain control of it. On the Egyptian side of the divided border town of Rafah, many gas stations have gone out of fuel and groceries are short on food. The Egyptians, eager at first to make a buck from the Palestinian shopping spree, want the border crisis wrapped up quickly. Hammad, 26, said he restocked his store twice this week but ran out of items to sell Tuesday. They are buying everything, he said of the Palestinians. God forbid, they will also buy the air, and we will not be able to breathe. Egyptian border guards were busy repairing another section of the destroyed Gaza border wall Tuesday, slowing Palestinians in their arrivals. On the Gazan side of Rafah, Hamas forces were managing traffic, stopping at least one car carrying Palestinian civilians and forcing it to turn around. But even though the cross-border movement was just in the hundreds Tuesday - a trickle compared to previous days- mostly because of the cold, windy weather, it was unclear if Egypt planned to completely halt the crossings. Two large border breaches remained open - including the ones the guards were repairing. Egypt also deployed several dozen riot police armed with shields and batons at the two remaining openings. Other riot police blocked the Egyptian Rafah's main road and told Palestinian cars to head back to Gaza. Some disgruntled Egyptians even claimed they were being robbed. Standing in the middle of a Rafah street in mid-covered sandals, wood collector Khamis Abou-Fares complained to anyone who would listen. After blinking for a second, I could no longer see my pile of wood, he said. The Palestinians destroyed our town and now they are stealing from us. Is this the way to return a favor? Nooreldin el-Goneus, 25, said some Palestinians offered to buy the sheep he was selling to get cash for his upcoming wedding, but he declined because their offer wasn't good enough. Half an hour later, his flock was gone from outside his home. He claimed his brother saw some Palestinians load his sheep onto their truck. We took you (Palestinians) in and gave you everything we had, and now you are slapping us with those thefts, he lamented. Some form of agreement on who controls the border could come either late Tuesday or Wednesday when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a Hamas delegation hold separate meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo. Jittery about the border chaos, Egypt has invited Abbas and his rival Hamas movement to the talks to end the weeklong crisis. Abbas has ruled from the West Bank since Hamas militants overran his forces and seized control of Gaza last June. Abbas still claims authority over Gaza, but in reality wields no influence there. Egypt and other Arab countries oppose any future Hamas control over the frontier and have called for a return to a 2005 international border monitoring agreement that excludes the Islamist organization from any kind of role. Hamas, however, insists on having a say in the border administration. The militants got a boost from the Rafah breach among Gazans, who have been sealed off from the outside world for the past two years. Some Palestinians said Egyptian security officers in El-Arish were telling them to leave and others complained that police in the coastal city were surrounding their cars and banging on them with sticks, demanding they go back to Gaza. Police would not confirm these allegations. Unlike Hammad, Mamdouh al-Teeh was not unhappy with the Palestinians. God bless Egypt for keeping this open, said the Sinai resident, as he was emptying his trucks of diesel and waterpipes tobacco. He added he hoped the border would never shut because of the great business he had in the past week. On the Gaza side of Rafah, Gazan Mohammed Abu el-Kheir criticized Egypt for attempting to close the breaches. Followers of America and Israel. You are only closing the border because of the pressure, he said. Another Gazan, Attef Abdul-Magid, said Egyptian security forces stopped him in a small town between El-Arish and Rafah and made him board a bus carrying other Palestinians heading back to Rafah. In Gazan Rafah, about 50 Hamas lawmakers and intellectuals staged a rally Tuesday to thank Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for allowing the Palestinians to cross the border. But deputy Parliament Speaker Ahmed Bahar also urged Egypt to allow Gazans to travel outside of Egypt and asked Palestinians to work with Egyptian security officials. We call on our people to cooperate with Egyptian security, whose work we appreciate, and to exhibit discipline and to respond to their orders in order to organize the exit and entry along the border, Bahar said Bookmark to del.icio.us   Pride of Shas Shas MK: Gays are causing Israeli society to self-destruct. In bad taste Local Jewish group protests 'Holocaust float' at Rio Carnival.   1.   Now you understand what they`re up against 00:14  |  jm 30/01/08

Today Online Obama: Opponents trying to weaken my support among Jews Responses: 278 In final State of the Union, Bush calls for democratic Palestine Responses: 115 Abbas: Gaza border row shows Hamas disregard for Palestinian needs Responses: 101 Shas MK: Gays are causing Israeli society to self-destruct Responses: 45 Amir Oren: Hamas has made a mockery of Olmert, Barak Responses: 45 Rosner's Domain Obama, the first Jewish president (What To Read) Lieberman: Why McCain's the man for Israel-lovers New Guest: Diaspora Jews need to be heard on Jerusalem. Two days before the Florida primary, Rudy seeks solace in football McCain using support for Israel to court Jews - and Christians More Headlines 20:27 PM: South is at war and many Israelis don't feel it 23:54 Day before Lebanon report, it's business as usual at the PMO 22:54 European Jewish leader: World Jews should have say in Israeli politics 23:54 Peres urges world youth to fight anti-Semitism using Facebook 01:02 Hezbollah official threatens to kidnap additional IDF soldiers 01:08 UN envoy: Women in Gaza feel coerced to cover their heads 01:45 Olmert mulls putting up fence on border with Egypt 23:44 Libya rescinds bid for UN condemnation of Israeli blockade on Gaza 22:07 Air and sea ports suffer as stormy weather sweeps across Israel 20:18 Shas MK: Gays are causing Israeli society to self-destruct 21:22 Local Jewish group protests 'Holocaust float' at Rio Carnival 20:35 Despite few public events, Germany remembers Hitler's rise to power 20:50 T.A. mayor to PM: Help treat African refugees before crisis erupts Previous Editions Select Day 29 jan 28 jan 27 jan 25 jan 24 jan 23 jan 22 jan 21 jan 20 jan 18 jan 17 jan 16 jan

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