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Gazans pray over bodies of three Palestinians killed during clashes with Egyptian forces on border with Egypt Tuesday. (AP)
Last update - 10:00 06/02/2008
Egypt warns Hamas against provocations on Gaza border
By DPA
Tags: Hamas, Dimona 

Egypt warned Hamas on Tuesday against causing any further provocations on the Gaza border a day after clashes between Palestinians and Egyptian border police erupted.

"It is important that the Hamas leadership in Gaza adopts wisdom so as to discourage Palestinian masses from going close to the border with Egypt," the country's foreign minister, Ahmed Abul-Gheit, said.

Speaking after talks with his Spanish counterpart, the minister said Egypt would not accept any further provocations.
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"Egypt is generous and patient but its patience has limits," he noted commenting on clashes, which erupted Monday between Palestinian stone-throwers and Egyptian border police. One Palestinian was killed and 24 Egyptians were injured in the clashes.

Egypt was mulling proposals to run its border on the basis of the 2005 agreement, the Egyptian minister said.

"We have to know that Hamas' control of Gaza contradicts the border agreement and the legal status of the Palestinian Authority and Egyptian recognition of the authority," Abul-Gheit noted.

Earlier, Egypt sent reinforcements to its border with the Gaza Strip, security sources said, after a Palestinian suicide bombing in Dimona.

Some 200 extra troops were sent to the 10-kilometre-long border with Gaza Monday, officials at Egypt's Northern Sinai Police Department told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Some 1,500 members of Egypt's Central Security Force were now deployed at the border, London's Arabic al-Hayat daily reported earlier.

In a statement published Tuesday, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza demanded an investigation into the death on the border and said the incident proved an arrangement must be found "quickly" for the formal reopening of the border.

But al-Hayat quoted Egyptian officials as saying Egypt would not accept an arrangement whereby Hamas security forces would guard the Rafah border passage, as Cairo recognizes the Ramallah-based "caretaker" government of President Mahmoud Abbas as the only legitimate Palestinian regime.

Hamas demands a role in running the passage, bypassing an international agreement from November 2005, which stipulated Abbas' Presidential Guard, Egyptian authorities and European observers would man the border passage, while Israel would observe security procedures at Rafah via video monitoring.

Hamas militants blew holes in the border on January 23, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to circumvent a tight Israeli blockade and stock up on supplies in Egypt.

The border remained breached for almost 12 days, and Israel fears Palestinian militants exploited the opportunity to infiltrate its own
territory via Egypt.

Israeli media, meanwhile, reported that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni wants to see the number of Egyptian forces along Israel's more than 200-kilometre-long border with Egypt doubled.

But the Defense Ministry and army strongly oppose this, fearing larger numbers of Egyptian troops could pose a security threat and set a "dangerous" precedent of reopening a peace treaty.

Israel's 1979 peace treaty with Egypt strictly limits the number
of Egyptian troops allowed in the Sinai peninsula.

Related articles:
  • Egypt arrests 17 Palestinian militants in Sinai over weekend
  • Hamas takes control at frontier as 200,000 Gazans enter Egypt
  • Report: Egypt thwarts suicide terror attack against Israel
  • Israel demands that Egypt restore order at Gaza-Egypt border
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      1.   Egypt will eventually have to "bite the bullet"... 01:51  |  bat yam 06/02/08
      2.   Is Egypt a serious peace partner....? 01:58  |  Stephen. 06/02/08
      3.   Maybe Egypt can handle the Hamaskis 02:06  |  ottomatik 06/02/08
      4.   Hamas once again used civilians as shields hiding behind 02:23  |  Gina 06/02/08
      5.   Egypt is well aware of the evil intentions of Hamas 02:24  |  Conroy 06/02/08
      6.   Repel the invader. 02:28  |  Charles Smyth 06/02/08
      7.   Mubarak knows he can`t fool around with Hamas since the 02:42  |  lakshmi 06/02/08
      8.   Most Egyptians are mad at Hamas 03:05  |  Ahmose The Egyptian 06/02/08
      9.   Lakshmi, incompetent Hamas murderers no threat to Mubarak 03:05  |  Voice of Reason 06/02/08
      10.   #8 Most Arabs, not only Egyptians, are mad at Hamas 03:43  |  Conroy 06/02/08
      11.   An act of desperation 04:18  |  Mark Lincoln 06/02/08
      12.   clickfool where art thou ?? 04:50  |  Jim 06/02/08
      13.   Another new "Hot Spot" in the region 04:53  |  Avrum 06/02/08
      14.   Another new "Hot Spot" in the region 04:53  |  Avrum 06/02/08
      15.   #7 Lakshmi - Mubarak will not be fooling around 06:06  |  * BEN JABO 06/02/08
      16.   #3 Arab on Arab violence hardly raises an eyebrow 07:06  |  fiona 06/02/08
      17.   Egypt and the Arab refugees. 07:32  |  Harold Lane 06/02/08
      18.   I am here 08:04  |  Clickfool 06/02/08
      19.   Egypt and the Arab refugees. 08:14  |  Harold Lane 06/02/08
      20.   Clickfool`s absence 10:22  |  Nik Miller 06/02/08
      21.   Clickfool`s absence 10:22  |  Nik Miller 06/02/08
      22.   Egypt free to "warn Hamas against provocations" 10:24  |  Fred 06/02/08
      23.   paper tiger seen in suez canal area 10:51  |  v hardman 06/02/08
      24.   #20, Nick, it is impossible to know who is wearing which mask 11:15  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 06/02/08
      25.   #12Jim please 11:58  |  E 06/02/08
      26.   Borders should open 11:59  |  Jaber 06/02/08
      27.   The NIE reported Clickfool seen at grannies.. 12:09  |  Stephen. 06/02/08
      28.   jaber 12:24  |  danny 06/02/08
      29.   Jaber #26 is correct 12:27  |  Fred 06/02/08
      30.   Danny 12:59  |  Jaber 06/02/08
      31.   Will Hamas detroy the pals? 13:25  |  Petra 06/02/08
      32.   # 5 Conroy great post!!! 13:27  |  Petra 06/02/08
      33.   #30 Jaber 13:52  |  Hastaroth 06/02/08
      34.   A match made in heaven! 14:06  |  Yessir Ibn Badkarma 06/02/08
      35.   lakshmi - You know the dog sign, Beware of Dog on peoples 14:16  |  k 06/02/08
      36.   Cipora 14:29  |  Nik Miller 06/02/08
      37.   #33 Hastaroth 14:44  |  Jaber 06/02/08
      38.   What`s Next? 15:15  |  Ahmose The Egyptian 06/02/08
      39.   3 7 lakshmi....many Egyptians have been posting 15:26  |  Lynn 06/02/08
      40.   # 8 Ahmose......Egyptians are surprised 15:29  |  Lynn 06/02/08
      41.   Jaber #37 15:32  |  natan 06/02/08
      42.   Ahmose #20 15:40  |  Dorothy 06/02/08
      43.   # 29 Fred....get over it 15:49  |  Lynn 06/02/08
      44.   Clickker...dont try. 15:56  |  Ofer Maimon 06/02/08
      45.   #28 Are you sure? 16:02  |  Outsider 06/02/08
      46.   Border should be open when there is no fire 16:09  |  Abu Halil bin yusuf 06/02/08
      47.   wishfulness that pals leave will not cause even 16:10  |  bozhidarevski 06/02/08
      48.   #28. Danny .If Israelis can vote for religious Parties, so... 16:45  |  John Dee 06/02/08
      49.   #37 Jaber, very honest responce. Keep it up dear brother. 16:59  |  Ahmadi 06/02/08
      50.   The Egyptian position 17:24  |  Tosefta 06/02/08
      51.   Of course if Israelis wants to 17:25  |  Hamid 06/02/08
      52.   Clarification about Egyptian military (Dorothy #42; re Ahmose) 17:42  |  Tosefta 06/02/08
      53.   to outsider 17:43  |  citizen zero 06/02/08
      54.   Hamid 17:51  |  Ofer Maimon 06/02/08
      55.   Tosefta, #50, How about option 1A 18:18  |  Voice of Reason 06/02/08
      56.   Tosefta- Police, Military and Security/thanks 18:50  |  Dorothy 06/02/08
      57.   Laksmi: Mubarak will do like hussien (1970) 19:02  |  John Thomas 06/02/08
      58.   Voice of Reason # 55 19:21  |  American in NY 06/02/08
      59.   common cause against bestial hamas 19:27  |  anup 06/02/08
      60.   Lynn, Dorothy, and Tosetfa 19:30  |  Ahmose The Egyptian 06/02/08
      61.   Actually, 20:03  |  Yosemite 06/02/08
      62.   Hamas, provocations!?? Noooo neverrrr 20:14  |  JJ 06/02/08
      63.   Yes let them 20:15  |  Danite 06/02/08
      64.   #60 Ahmose kicks out the Hyksos to Gaza (re Dorothy, Lynn) 21:12  |  Tosefta 06/02/08
      65.   Dear George W. Bush 21:32  |  People 06/02/08
      66.   Dear George W. Bush Part 2. 21:36  |  People 06/02/08
      67.   Dear George W. Bush Part 3 21:39  |  People 06/02/08
      68.   #36, Nick 21:41  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 06/02/08
      69.   To Tosefta #64 00:21  |  Ahmose The Egyptian 07/02/08
      70.   American(?) in NY(#58) no need for victory! 01:22  |  Voice of REason 07/02/08
      71.   American(?)in NY (#58) victory is not necessary