1000s try to cross into Egypt
2008-07-02 22:59
El-Arish, Egypt - Egyptian security forces used water cannons on Wednesday to keep thousands of Palestinians from storming across the border between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, a security official said.
"Egyptian security forces are using water cannons to control thousands of Palestinians who are trying to enter Egypt," the official said.
Witnesses on the Gaza side of the border said hundreds of Palestinians had stormed the border terminal in Rafah as Israel was set to ease a blockade of the impoverished territory.
The security official said Egypt had deployed dozens of extra troops near the Rafah crossing itself and many more along the border with the Gaza Strip.
"Palestinians are angry because they say the numbers being allowed into Egypt are limited," the official said.
He said no Palestinians had entered Egypt from Rafah on Wednesday and just over 200 had entered on Tuesday, adding: "Palestinians had expected that many more would be allowed in."
The Gaza Strip was to receive its first cement shipment in a year on Wednesday as Israel prepared to reopen the border crossings it shut down after militant rocket attacks breached a truce last week.
On Wednesday morning, dozens of empty lorries lined up on the Palestinian side of the Sufa crossing waiting to load the shipments of cement and other supplies.
Tight embargo
Israel, which blacklists Hamas as a terrorist group, imposed a tight embargo after the Islamist's violently seized power in the densely-populated coastal strip more than a year ago.
As part of an Egyptian-mediated truce deal, Israel has agreed to gradually ease the embargo, but kept the border crossings closed on most days since the ceasefire went into effect on June 19 in retaliation for rocket attacks.
On Wednesday it was to reopen the three crossings used to deliver fuel, grain and other basic goods to Gaza.
A total of about 150 truckloads were expected to be shipped into Gaza on Wednesday, Lerner said. Before the truce an average of 60 truckloads made their way into the impoverished sliver of land where the majority of the 1.5 million population rely on foreign aid to survive.
Hamas has insisted it is respecting the truce and trying to prevent other armed groups from firing rockets at southern Israel. The Hamas authorities have vowed to arrest anyone who carries out such attacks.
In the latest incident on Tuesday, a Palestinian woman, Aisha Ataya, 35, was shot in the foot near the border in southern Gaza, according to Palestinian medics.
The Israeli army denies wounding anyone, saying it only fired warning shots in the air.