Report: Egypt to seal border with Gaza Friday
Egyptian paper al-Ahram reports local security forces expected to seal breached border with Gaza on Friday, once all Palestinians return to Strip
Egypt's al-Ahram weekly reported Friday that the country's security forces are expected to close the Egyptian-Gaza border during the day.
According to the report, the border will be sealed once all the Palestinians who are still on Egyptian territory have returned to Gaza.
Twenty-six trucks carrying advanced equipment to be used for sealing the border and monitoring it have already arrived in Rafah," the paper said, noting that security forces were investing intensive efforts in "sealing the border quickly."
An Egyptian security source told al-Ahram that the country planned to do the utmost to prevent further infiltration of Palestinians into its territory, but that the inflow of food supplies into the Strip would continue.
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.
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 40 miles away.
AP contributed to the report
