CAIRO: About 105 Palestinians, cleared by Israeli security allowing them to return to Gaza through the Erez crossing, were still stuck on the Egyptian side of the border at press time Sunday.
In a trip that would last five hours, the Palestinians were supposed to travel through a rarely used cargo crossing into Israel. From there they were due to enter Gaza through the Israeli Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. However they were yet to cross into Israel.
“This [attempted crossing] is just testing the waters. If it works, a further 300 will go [on Monday], local coordinator for Palestinian Affairs Abdel Sattar El-Ghalban told Daily News Egypt, “and if it doesn’t, there will be an explosion among the people here if the situation continues.
A thousand Palestinians gathered into a stadium in Al-Arish, where a list of 105 names approved by Israel to enter Israeli territory was called out. According to Associated Press, Israel has approved the passage of 627 Palestinians to cross the border.
Local estimates place the number of stranded Palestinians in Rafah and Al-Arish at 6000.
The Palestinians attempting to cross also face difficulties on entry into Gaza because of Hamas’ refusal to allow any of the stranded Palestinians entry except through the Rafah crossing.
The crossing has been closed for two months now since fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah, giving Hamas control over Gaza.
“We have talked to Hamas and they have refused to allow them into Gaza, and if they do enter, they might be subject to arrest and charged with criminal offences, El-Ghalban said.
El-Ghalban also sent out a note of caution to the Arab world concerning their position towards Hamas.
“We ask the Arabs to embrace Hamas, because if not we will push them towards Iran and Bin Laden, he said, “We do not want this and the Arabs’ position is shameful.
The proper solution to the current situation, El-Ghalban said, is to reopen the Rafah crossing, stressing that the crossing is an Egyptian-Palestinian one, outside Israeli control.
Asked about the fact that an agreement with Israel controls the opening of the Rafah crossing, he said that “Israel breaks treaties with the Palestinians all the time without repercussions, why then should we respect this one? Besides, the humanitarian situation makes it necessary for something to be done urgently.
An Israeli official from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s bureau told Haaretz, “If there s a humanitarian problem, the Palestinians can go through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The matter has been discussed for several weeks and the decision is in the Palestinians hands.
The reactions of Palestinians stranded in Rafah and Al-Arish to suggestions of opening the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom to replace the Rafah crossing are mixed. Many of them are against the idea, and place the onus on Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing.
There are worries, especially among those displaced Palestinians affiliated to Hamas, that they will be arrested by the Israelis at the crossing. Hamas is vehemently opposed to the idea and pledged to consider the crossing as a “military target if it were to be opened.
On a final note, El-Ghalban made a personal plea to the state of Qatar to allow his own daughter, stranded in Rafah, back to the tiny emirate to be reunited with her husband.
Samar Abdel-Sattar El-Ghalban and her daughter are in Rafah, while her husband, Saleh Ahmed Hejazy lives in Qatar. Of Palestinian origin, Hejazy is Qatari born and has lived there for decades. However, his wife has been refused entry into Qatar.
“They are closing their borders and preventing families from being reunited, El-Ghalban said.
