Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., July 03, 2008 Sivan 30, 5768 | | Israel Time: 20:13 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Palestinians stand behind a gate as they wait to enter Egypt from Gaza on Tuesday. (AP) Last update - 16:39 02/07/2008 Six Egypt police wounded as Gazans try to storm Rafah border By Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies Tags: Israel, Gaza crossings, Egypt  Hundreds of Palestinians stormed the Gaza Strip's border crossing with Egypt on Wednesday, throwing rocks at Egyptian troops and demanding to cross through, witnesses said. At least six Egyptian police were injured, security and medical sources said. The Palestinians accused Egypt of reneging on a promise to open the vital crossing, which has been virtually sealed for the past year since the Hamas militant group seized control of Gaza. But Egyptian officials said Hamas had broken the agreement by sending unauthorized people to cross. Advertisement The crowd burst past Hamas security forces at the border but was unable to get through the Egyptian side, the witnesses said. Palestinians began throwing rocks at Egyptian troops, who responded with water cannons. No one made it across the border, and Hamas later restored order, the witnesses said. Palestinian officials and witnesses said Hamas had beefed up security at the site after the violence and was restoring control, ordering people to leave and forcing the crowd back across the Palestinian border. The border opened on Tuesday to let sick and injured Palestinians through, as well as Palestinians with residence or work permits in third countries, and to allow Palestinians to return to their homes from Egypt. Officials said then that they planned to keep it open for three days. But Palestinian officials and witnesses said crowds had become frustrated by the slow pace of entry, with only around 200 Palestinians being allowed through on Tuesday out of the thousands seeking entry, according to Egyptian security sources. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters in Gaza, "It (the violence) was a spontaneous act that reflected the state of pressure and suffering the Palestinian citizens are being exposed to in the Gaza Strip... The incident stresses the need to open the Rafah crossing permanently to Palestinian citizens." An Egyptian security source said Egyptian authorities were threatening a total closure. A Palestinian official in the Gaza Strip said Egypt had closed the border for the day, but would process any Palestinians inside the terminal. Rafah is the main gateway for Gazans to the outside world, used by the area's 1.4 million people to travel abroad for studies, medical care, jobs and family visits. In January, Hamas militants blew open the border, allowing thousands of people to cross through until it was resealed about two weeks later. Wednesday's rush on the border raised concerns that people might once again try to breach the border. Egypt and Israel have kept Rafah closed for the past year to put pressure on Gaza's Hamas rulers. Under a truce mediated by Egypt, Israel has signaled it would reopen the border once Hamas returns the captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, it has held for two years. Egypt is currently trying to broker a prisoner swap. As part of the truce, Egypt had allowed in principle to allow medical patients, students and those with residence in Arab countries to leave over three days, starting Tuesday. At least 6,000 Gazans meeting these criteria registered to cross Rafah. On Wednesday, thousands were still waiting at the crossing, and by noon, not a single bus had crossed yet. Tensions rose after Egypt said only 200 people would be allowed through, and the crowd started pushing through the first gate on the Gaza side, up to the last gate that separates Gaza and Egypt. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said his group was sorry for the troubles at the border. "This reflects the pressure that people are suffering," he said. "We call on Egypt to speed up the process of reopening Rafah terminal in normal way." In Egypt, security officials and a Palestinian diplomat said the decision to open the crossing this week was made under an agreement that both Hamas and Egypt should coordinate the movement. An Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said Hamas had violated the agreement by sending people who were not approved to cross. "This an infringement of the agreement of coordination," the official said. "The opening of the crossing was for humanitarian purposes not for every body." Israel reopens Gaza crossings Also Wednesday, Israel reopened crossings on the Gaza Strip border, and for the first time in a year, allowed the transfer of construction material into the coastal territory. Four crossings between Israel and Gaza reopened on schedule, Israel and the Hamas rulers of Gaza said. The Hamas Interior Ministry said Israel was to allow in fuel, wheat and animal feed, in addition to five trucks of dry cement for the first time in a year. About 26 sick Palestinians were also to enter Israel to receive treatment. Since a truce with Gaza militants began on June 19, Israel has closed the passages a total of six times in retaliation for the firing of rockets on its population centers. But the Israel Defense Forces said that a lull in rocket strikes Tuesday led to the decision to open the crossings. "After evaluating the situation where we had a couple of days where rockets were fired, no rockets were fired yesterday and this has enabled us to reopen the crossings," IDF spokesman Major Peter Lerner said. On Tuesday, Cairo ordered the opening of the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border Tuesday, allowing more than 100 people to cross the border. Among them were roughly 50 who needed medical care and another 67 Egyptian citizens who were stranded in the Strip after the closing of the border a few weeks after it was breached by Hamas in January. Egypt plans on letting additional Palestinians cross from Egypt into Gaza on Wednesday. Since Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007, the Rafah crossing has been opened - according to observations by the security establishment - at least 50 times, despite Israel's demand that the crossing remain closed until kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is released by Gaza militants. Senior Palestinian and Israeli officials said they doubt Egypt intends to open the Rafah crossing completely, even after Shalit is released, out of concern that Palestinians would stream into Egypt. It appears that Egypt prefers at this stage to open the crossing intermittently rather than permanently. A Hamas leader, Ismail Radwan, castigated Egypt on Tuesday for preventing Hamas activists from returning to Gaza. Radwan said it was illogical to be conducting negotiations with the "Zionist enemy" for the release of Palestinian prisoners while Egypt held them. He also said that Hamas would not retract its demand to include those serving life terms in Israeli jails on its list of prisoners to be exchanged for Shalit. In response to Israeli objections, Egypt told Israel Tuesday that the opening of the Rafah crossing did not necessarily breach its obligations with regard to the truce it brokered between Israel and Hamas. A senior government official said senior Egyptian officials had told their Israeli counterparts that "the opening of the crossing was done to let off steam that built up over weeks, as is done from time to time." The Prime Minister's Bureau only comment on the opening of the crossing was to refer the matter to the Defense Ministry. Abbas urges self-restraint to preserve Gaza cease-fire Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged self-restraint Tuesday from both sides to preserve the shaky, Egyptian-brokered truce in the Gaza Strip, "despite the fact that there are those who are trying to destroy it." Abbas was speaking after he and Defense Minister Ehud Barak met briefly Tuesday during a Socialist International parley in Athens, and both indicated their support for peace talks. The truce was under strain on Tuesday as Israel re-sealed its border crossings with the Gaza Strip after militants fired rockes on the western Negev. Israel closed its crossings into the Strip in response to the fire, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Palestinian militants that Israel would respond if attacks from the Gaza Strip persisted. Meanwhile, Noam Shalit, the father of kidnapped soldier, took Olmert and the military and political establishment to task for failing to secure the release of his son after two years. "Conducting successful negotiations over the cost of returning prisoners is a result of the skill of the leader in being creative, determined, effective and experienced in this area, and his willingness to consult with others on the matter. Unfortunately, I did not see that the prime minister had this effectiveness." Speaking at a conference at Bar-Ilan University on the moral and legal implications of a prisoner swap, Shalit said "Olmert asked Hamas to prepare a list of prisoners to release. Whoever heard of such a thing? It took them nine months to put together the list, which was 'heavy.' Nine months of Gilad's life lost forever." Shalit was responding to remarks by law professor Yedidiah Stern, who argued that "it is inconceivable for the families of the kidnapped soldiers to play an integral part in determining the price-tag for returning the boys." Stern called the families' part in the discourse "humiliating," saying that "the State of Israel must determine clear rules on the matter, because now we have paid a high price and in the future it will be higher. Captivity is worse than death. It is a black hole that everything around it is pulled into, but that cannot be what dictates the nation's actions." Tzvi Regev, the father of kidnapped soldier Eldad Regev, who also took part in the conference, said every soldier has to know that the nation and the flag are behind him. "Despite the reports released about our sons, we have not lost hope," Regev also said. (Barak Ravid and Jack Khoury contributed to this report) Related articles: Olmert: Don't interpret Israel's restraint in Gaza as weakness Israel keeps Gaza crossings closed, as Egypt eases Rafah border Olmert: Let's speed up deal for Shalit Bookmark to del.icio.us   Terror in the capital A Palestinian rammed his bulldozer into a bus in Jerusalem, killing three. Poetic injustice Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish blends sarcasm and hope in his latest work.   1.   The olmert`s gang punishment for terrorism 04:37  |  Arie 02/07/08   2.   whats the point? 04:54  |  vik 02/07/08   3.   Interesting to compare Shalits to McCains 07:25  |  Voice of Reason 02/07/08   4.   Egypt and the ?Palestinians?. 08:10  |  Jean Van Daem 02/07/08   5.   Vik - The Rumored Monday Launch 10:05  |  Mark of Lewiston 02/07/08   6.   Jean Van Deam - And who gets the Gas Reserves? 10:09  |  Mark of Lewiston 02/07/08   7.   What do they need cement for? 11:15  |  Gershon Reed 02/07/08   8.   Enemies of Israel should make peace with Israel NOW 11:27  |  Dagma 02/07/08   9.   If Olmert is following `Instructions` from Bush.... 11:41  |  charlie 02/07/08   10.   The `Arab Dream`........ 11:45  |  Dolly 02/07/08   11.   The `Arab Dream`........ 11:45  |  Dolly 02/07/08   12.   OLMERT for SHA;LIT....... 11:50  |  Natasha 02/07/08   13.   @Hello Dolly 11:57  |  Ralph 02/07/08   14.   A Rocket Lull? Great News for the `hudna` was a success after al 12:07  |  Dolly 02/07/08   15.   condemned out of their own mouths 12:23  |  Murray 02/07/08   16.   A Shalit deal has been on the table for two years! 12:23  |  Natallie Durson 02/07/08   17.   Witnesses: Gazans storm border crossing with Egypt, throw rocks a 13:39  |  PETER SM 02/07/08   18.   Now Egypt will join the fray ! 14:50  |  Akram Zekaria 02/07/08   19.   #18# Akram, thank you. 15:18  |  John Allen 02/07/08   20.   Rafah closed? There are 100 tunnels!! 16:27  |  Alain 02/07/08   21.   Will egyptians shoot pali terrorists? 16:27  |  Arie 02/07/08   22.   FINALLIY EGYPT GROWS SOME BALLS 16:29  |  michelle 02/07/08   23.   no shalit NO TRUCE..No opening 16:37  |  real vision 02/07/08   24.   Egypt must open the border. 16:44  |  Stephen. 02/07/08   25.   Civillized people, those Gazans 18:00  |  Free Gilad Shalit 02/07/08   26.   One of these days the puppet regime in Egypt will fall,and that 18:33  |  lakshmi 02/07/08   27.   # 15 Murray 19:21  |  17 02/07/08   28.   gaza siege 19:31  |  S.Gompetz 02/07/08   29.   They got water cannons first shower filthy Palestinkians had week 21:32  |  Big Sur 02/07/08   30.   Lakshmi seems a lot of puppets are out there. Jordan is another 21:40  |  Big Sur California 02/07/08   31.   Murray what was Illegal not letting captured IDF to talk to Red C 21:43  |  Big Sur, 02/07/08   32.   #17 PETER SM....well, they`re getting better 23:19  |  Lynn 02/07/08   33.   To Egyptians: Use machine guns next time 00:41  |  Baruch Gold 03/07/08   34.   EGYPT IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL 03:02  |  PalestniansAreA Myth 03/07/08   35.   An answer to "17", from the Israeli High Court 11:50  |  Murray 03/07/08   36.   Sure, Big Sur 12:38  |  Murray 03/07/08   37.   :-) Water Cannons are very effective 18:31  |  Nick 03/07/08   38.   General question about muslims 18:38  |  Nick 03/07/08   39.   WHY DO YOU REFER TO THEM AS GAZANS;IF THEY PREFER HAMAS RULE THAN 19:30  |  glenna 03/07/08   40.   Murray: what rights are you talking about? 20:08  |  Hashem 03/07/08

Read & React Shot and bleeding, Jerusalem terrorist kept going to kill baby's mother Responses: 144 ANALYSIS / Terrorist or petty criminal run amok? Responses: 125 Ari Shavit: Strike on Iran is good for Israel and U.S. in long run Responses: 80 Reuven Rivlin: Talkbackers, not security services, are setting Israeli policy Responses: 31 Obama enlists Jewish lawmakers in outreach effort Responses: 53 Rosner's Domain Back to Vietnam Poll: Do you believe Israel might attack Iran? Why did the US go to war in Iraq? (WTR) Young adult Jews prefer to marry Jews The rules have changed! Klein still alive! (WTR) More Headlines 19:40 Source: Hezbollah swap to take place next week 19:13 Qassam hits Negev, sixth since start of Gaza truce 19:44 Olmert: Raze terrorist's home, revoke family's social benefits 17:32 U.S. envoy: We won't intervene in Israel-Syria talks 20:13 Mother of man slain by Kuntar: This monster will be a hero in Lebanon 12:18 How many missiles will be fired from Iran, Syria, Lebanon in the next war? 19:19 Israeli rabbi to attend Saudi-sponsored interfaith meet 15:59 Jerusalem terrorist's family told to take down mourners' tent 12:59 Obama enlists Jewish lawmakers in outreach effort 13:50 Barak okays construction of dormitory at Hebron seminary 19:09 Hitler wax figure unveiled in Berlin amid criticism 19:00 Haredim riot across Israel in protest of slain rebbetzin's autopsy 14:41 Study: Israelis like to smoke marijuana, less keen on coke 17:22 Man who killed IDF soldier outside Haifa nightclub gets life in prison Previous Editions Select Day 02 jul 01 jul 30 jun 29 jun 27 jun 26 jun 25 jun 24 jun 23 jun 22 jun 20 jun 19 jun

Special Offers