Egypt preventing Gaza car traffic from entering
Border guards try to contain influx of Palestinians to Rafah; Gazans concerned border will soon be sealed
Egyptian border guards moved Thursday to prevent all car traffic from entering the country from the Gaza Strip, but still allowed hundreds of Palestinians in on foot.
The development reflected Egypt's intentions to contain the influx from the breached boundary, but worries grew among the Gazans that the Egyptians could soon completely seal the border.
A young bearded man, likely from Hamas' security, in a raincoat and with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder, said the militia was told Wednesday night not to let Palestinians into Egypt anymore.
The Egyptians meanwhile, were allowing vehicles with Egyptian car-plates back from Gaza. Since Hamas blew up the border wall over a week ago setting off the flood of Gazans eager to stock up on supplies and necessities here, Egyptian traders had also driven into the strip to sell their merchandize there.
Egypt has worked hard to keep Palestinians bottled up near the border since hundreds of thousands poured across after last week's breach. The Palestinians are continuously stopped at checkpoints, and most make it no farther than the divided Rafah or El-Arish, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) away.
Gazans could become a problem
But some Palestinians, and perhaps also some weapons from Gaza, have made it to other parts of Egypt, including Cairo. This stepped up Egyptian concerns that Gazans, if not contained in the border area, could become a problem for the rest of the country.
Israel has warned its citizens against visiting the beach resorts of Sinai, the vast desert peninsula between the Gaza border and Cairo.
In Cairo meanwhile, the Syria-based radical Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was expected to talk with Egyptian officials about the border crisis Thursday. The militant group is seeking to return to the political stage and maintain its influence on the frontier, after it wrestled control of Gaza in clashes last June with their bitter rival, the Palestinian Fatah.
But it was unclear what Hamas could achieve in the talks, after moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made it clear during a visit to Cairo Wednesday he will not be pressured into working with them.
