Tens of Thousands Cross Downed Gaza Wall

01/23/2008

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured from the Gaza Strip into Egypt Wednesday after masked gunmen with explosives destroyed most of the seven-mile wall dividing the border town of Rafah.

The Gazans crossed on foot, in cars or riding donkey carts to buy supplies made scarce by an Israeli blockade of their impoverished territory. Police from the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, directed the traffic. Egyptian border guards took no action.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said Israel has no forces on the Gaza-Egypt border and, "therefore it is the responsibility of Egypt to ensure that the border operates properly, according to the signed agreements."

"We expect the Egyptians to solve the problem," Mekel said. "Obviously we are worried about the situation. It could potentially allow anybody to enter."

Israeli defense officials said they were concerned Hamas could use the opening of the border to bring weapons and ammunition into Gaza. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the defense ministry had issued no official statement.

The gunmen began breaching the wall dividing Rafah before dawn, according to witnesses and Hamas officials. A total of 17 explosions destroyed the Rafah wall Wednesday, Hamas security officials said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said they were allowing Palestinians to move freely through two gaps.

The identity of the gunmen who breached the border was not immediately clear. But Hamas expressed support for the move, saying that, "Blowing up the border wall with Egypt is a reflection of the ... catastrophic situation which the Palestinian people in Gaza are living through due to the blockade."

Thousands of Gazans began crossing into Egypt and returning with milk, cigarettes and plastic bottles of fuel.

Two-thirds of the Rafah wall had been demolished by 10 a.m. and the crowd of Palestinians crossing into Egypt swelled into the tens of thousands.

The destruction continued as Palestinians used a bulldozer to tear down a section of low concrete wall topped with barbed wire to allow easier access for cars.

By late morning, Palestinians across Gaza were trying to reach the border, pushing to board buses, piling into the backs of pickup trucks. However, shops on the Egyptian side had sold most of their wares.

Mohammed Abu Ghazel, 29, said he had crossed the border three times. He bought cigarettes worth $53 in Egypt and sold them for five times that in Gaza, he said.

"This can feed my family for a month," he said.

Guards directed the crowds over the fallen metal through two main crossing areas, inspecting some bags. One man returning to Gaza carried seven pistols that were confiscated by Hamas police. Others walked unhindered over the piles of scrap metal that once made up the border wall.

Gazan Ibrahim Abu Taha, 45, a father of seven, was in the Egyptian section of Rafah with his two brothers and $185 in his pocket. "We want to buy food, we want to buy rice and sugar, milk and wheat and some cheese," Abu Taha said in a telephone interview, adding that he would also buy cheap Egyptian cigarettes.

Abu Taha said he could get such basic foods in Gaza, but at three times the cost.

An off-duty Hamas security officer who identified himself as Abdel Rahman, 29, said this was his first time out of Gaza.

"I can smell the freedom," he said. "We need no border after today."

The territory had been cut off from the world since June, when Hamas seized power in Gaza by force, and Gazans are facing critical shortages of electricity, fuel and other supplies.

Palestinians used explosives to break through the border on several occasions after Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, and Gaza militants used the breaches to smuggle weapons and people through.

In the past, Egyptian security forces restored order after hours or days.

The latest and largest breach came on the sixth day of a complete closure of Gaza, imposed by Israel and backed by Egypt, in response to a spike in Gaza rocket attacks on Israeli border towns.

Egypt has largely kept its border with Gaza closed since the Hamas takeover, amid concerns of a spillover of Hamas-style militancy into Egypt.

However, Hamas has orchestrated daily demonstrations on the Gaza-Egypt border in an apparent attempt to appeal to Arab public opinion and pressure Egypt to open the passage.

On Tuesday, Israel eased the closure slightly, transferring fuel to restart Gaza's only power plant, and also sent in some cooking gas, food and medicine. Israel has pledged to continue limited shipments because of concerns that a humanitarian crisis could develop in the already impoverished coastal territory.

Dozens of residents gathered at the border waiting to cross after the first explosions Wednesday, witnesses reported. Hamas forces gathered on the scene and prevented people from getting through. On the other side, Egyptian forces focused spotlights on breaks in the wall and deployed troops to block any infiltration attempts from Gaza, the witnesses said.

But by morning thousands of Gazans had massed at the border, and overwhelmed police began letting people cross. Most Egyptian security and police officers were later pulled out from the immediate vicinity of the border, Egyptian security officials said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. They did not explain why the officers had been withdrawn.

Governments, aid agencies and the U.N. have issued urgent appeals for an end to the Israeli closure of Gaza. Israel's Defense Ministry ruled late Tuesday that 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel will be transferred into Gaza daily, but the crossings will remain closed to other goods and people until further notice.

A Hamas militant was killed in a clash early Wednesday with Israeli forces near the closed Sufa crossing into Gaza, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military said soldiers exchanged fire with Palestinian militants in the area.