North Sinai declares state of emergency
AL-ARISH: In the hours following the explosion at the Egyptian border with Gaza, scores of Palestinians who were stranded on the Egyptian side of the border rushed into Gaza.
Meanwhile, North Sinai Governor Ahmed Abdel Hamid declared a state of emergency, according to the official MENA news agency, prompting security officials and hospitals to prepare for a possible escalation in the situation and increased casualties.
This is completely linked to what s happening in Gaza and Lebanon, says Diaa Rashwan, an analyst at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, referring to the state of emergency. It s not only related to the Palestinians [stranded by the border] … We are in a situation that no country can anticipate what may happen, and all countries must take precautionary measures.
Militants bombed the border wall by Rafah on Friday evening then stormed the border terminal and attacked Egyptian police, enabling the flow of Palestinians who have been unable to return to Gaza following the closure of the Rafah crossing.
Seven Egyptian police officers were injured during the incident, according to the Ministry of Information. Four of these officers have recovered and the others remain in non-critical condition in hospitals.
We had orders not to shoot, says an Egyptian security official who arrived at the scene hours after the explosion. They (Egyptian police) formed a line of policemen to try to stop them.
Reuters also reports that Israeli helicopters opened fire near those trying to cross in order to prevent them from doing so.
The Rafah crossing is the only international land entry point for passengers into Gaza.
The crossing was initially closed for three days last month due to an Israeli security alert that prevented the European monitors from reaching their posts.
After reopening briefly, it was again closed on June 25, when the monitors withdrew as the Israeli army raided Gaza to try to recover Gilad Shalit, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants.
The border was first opened in Nov. 2005 as part of an agreement brokered by the United States. The agreement permitted 750 Egyptian policemen to patrol the border in place of the Israeli army while requiring the presence of E.U. monitors for it to remain open.
As a result of the closure, thousands of Gaza residents who were traveling and on route back to Gaza when the crossing closed were stranded in tents by the border, in temporary accommodation in Al-Arish, about 40 km away from Rafah, and elsewhere in Egypt.
Khalid Gamal, a police officer from Gaza City who has been in Al-Arish for over a week, describes the anxiety of those displaced.
It is like a container overfilled with water and about to explode because of the pressure, says Gamal, adding that Friday night s events were the product of this accumulated frustration.
Many of the stranded had traveled to Egypt for medical treatment. Amongst those is a 26-year-old Palestinian woman suffering from cancer, who died last week.
Mohamed Ashour, a 23-year-old student, and businessman Mohamed Al-Farra traveled together from Khan Younis to Cairo for medical treatment last month. They have been stuck in Al-Arish since they first attempted to return to Gaza on June 28.
We just sit and watch the news, says Ashour, referring to his anticipation for the crossing to be reopened and his present idleness.
What else can we do? asks Al-Farra. We re in a prison.
Ashour and Al-Farra headed to the border at midnight on Friday, hoping to make it through.
Initially the Egyptians were lenient, says Ashour, adding that a friend who left Al-Arish an hour before him was able to pass into Gaza, while Ashour and Al-Farra were turned away.
Egyptian security forces eventually regained control of the border and prevented further crossing.
Although estimates of the number of Palestinians who made it through on Friday vary, the Ministry of Information says the figure is in the range of 1,700 to 1,800. Most news reports put the figure closer to 500.
The Ministry of Information adds that 2,000 to 3,000 Gaza residents remain stranded in various locations in Egypt.
