Kerem Shalom crossing to remain closed due to delays
4,000 Palestinians waiting to cross from Egypt into Gaza; delays due to technical problems on Egyptian side.
By Avi Issacharoff and Yuval AzoulayThe Kerem Shalom crossing, which was scheduled to reopen on Wednesday to some thousands of Palestinians seeking to travel home to the Gaza Strip, will remain closed due to technical problems on the Egyptian side of the border.
Some 4,000 Palestinians have been waiting in Egypt for the past week, without adequate accommodations or facilities, in order to cross into the Gaza Strip via Israel. It is unclear when the border will reopen.
During the fighting between Hamas and Fatah, Kerem Shalom was the only crossing Palestinians could use after the Rafah crossing was closed.
During his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit last week, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to relieve the humanitarian crisis near the crossing.
Immediately after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, Israel asked Egypt to keep the crossing closed since the agreements that governed the operation of Kerem Shalom and other crossings had become defunct in view of the changed situation in the Strip.
As such, the opening of the crossing will not be a permanent development.
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Ken, the fact is that Hamas is closely tied to the Muslim Brotherhood which is the only effective opposition to Mubarak. Olmert is an enemy of Hamas, and Hamas is an enemy of Israel. Thus both Israel and Egypt have a common problem with a Gaza under Hamas control. That problem is not military. It is political. If Hamas achieves anything like honest and competent government in Gaza that will be bad news for the dishonest and incompetent governments of Mubarak and Abbas. And thus Israel. There seems to be a common goal of being as nasty to the citizens of Gaza as possible. There seems to be agreement on tactics too.
Rafah Border crossing closed for the last 28 days. Those waiting to cross to Gaza are estimated to be about 6000. Many were in Egypt for medical treatment. 10 died while waiting to cross to Gaza. Hamas are responsible for the chaos in Gaza. Egyptian and Israeli Authorities should find a solution as quickly as possible for humanitarian reasons even if the border can open for few days. Care should be taken not to allow any Iranian agents. If closure continues for longer, the militias may open the dividing wall by force and let people, arms, bombs and Iranian money to enter Gaza to benefit Zahar, Haniyeh, Siam & company.