Egypt seals Gaza border
03/02/2008 14:41  - (SA)  

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'Hamas won't stand in our way' Gaza-Egypt border stays open 12 armed Palestinians held Israeli embassy attacked Border breach 'frees' bride Egypt tries to seal Gaza border

Rafah - Egyptian forces sealed the last breach in the border with the Gaza Strip on Sunday, stopping an influx of Palestinians into Egypt across a frontier blown open by Hamas Islamists defying an Israeli-led blockade.

"It is closed. Go home," a militant from Hamas, which was cooperating with Egypt in holding back Palestinians wanting to leave Gaza, told the crowd gathered at the border. Many began to leave the area.

Egyptian forces used barbed wire and metal barricades to seal the only remaining gap on the Egyptian side of the frontier at Rafah, a town straddling the border.

An Egyptian officer said Gazans on the Egyptian side of the frontier and Egyptians who had been visiting the Gaza Strip would be allowed to return home.

Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip by force in June, has been under pressure from Egypt to stop the flow of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have crossed over since members of the group blew open the border on January 23.

Gazans flocked to the Egyptian side of Rafah to stock up on goods that were in short supply in the Gaza Strip after Israel tightened border restrictions in a declared bid to pressure Palestinian militants to halt rocket attacks.

- Reuters

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