Thousands of Gazans cross as Egypt keeps key border crossing open

RAFAH, Gaza Strip, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has on Friday kept Rafah crossing on its borders with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip open for the third consecutive day, and thousands of Gaza Strip residents had crossed to Egypt.

Egypt had on Tuesday suddenly decided to open Rafah terminal in two directions following Arab and Palestinian pressure to ease the more than three-year Israeli blockade imposed on the impoverished enclave right after Hamas seized control in June 2007.

The sudden reopening of Rafah crossing came a day after the Israeli naval forces attacked the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla, which was carrying campaigners from around 40 countries as well as medical aid and construction materials. Israel seized the flotilla and expelled the campaigners.

"In spite of the trauma the population suffered after the Freedom Flotilla was seized, they expressed happiness and satisfaction after the Egyptian decision to reopen the Rafah border crossing in two directions until a further notice," said Sami Muhana, a Gaza resident who traveled to Egypt on Friday.

Official Egyptian sources announced that reopening the crossing was decided to allow humanitarian and medical aid into the Gaza Strip, in addition to receiving patients who need urgent medical treatment in hospitals abroad and students who need to resume their education in Egypt.

The Interior Ministry of the deposed Hamas government called on the people of Gaza, mainly patients, students and people who hold other nationalities, to register at the Interior Ministry's offices in order to coordinate their travel to Egypt with the Egyptian authorities.

Both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Islamic Hamas movement welcomed the Egyptian decision to reopen Rafah crossing for the besieged population of the Gaza Strip. Abbas said he thanks and appreciates the decision, while Hamas said it hopes the crossing will be permanently opened.

Fawzi Barhoum, the Gaza-based Hamas spokesman, said in a press statement that his movement "is looking forward that Egypt keeps the crossing permanently opened," adding "the Egyptian side hasn't informed us anything about a specific date to close down the crossing again."

Mahmoud al-Zahar, the senior Hamas leader, considered the Egyptian decision to reopen the Rafah crossing "a good step forward," adding "we hope that this step will be followed by other steps, such as keeping the crossing permanently opened."

Operating the crossing between Egypt and Gaza is tied to a U.S. sponsored treaty reached in 2005. Egypt, the Palestinians and Israel signed on the agreement to operate Rafah border crossing with the presence of European Union (EU) inspectors, while Israel observes the crossing through cameras.

However, the crossing stopped operating after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, where the EU inspectors left and Abbas security forces, which were holding control of the crossing, were routed by Hamas militias. But Egypt has temporarily reopened the crossing for several days for humanitarian cases.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources working at Rafah crossing said that around 2,000 people, including stranded Palestinians managed to cross Rafah terminal either heading to Egypt or returning back to Gaza. The sources said that all of them are traveling for humanitarian reasons.

The sources also said that around 15 trucks loaded with tents, electric generators, blankets and clothes were allowed into the Gaza Strip over the last three days.

Haj Mohamed Abu al-Sa'd, who returned to Gaza coming from Egypt through Rafah crossing, said he did not find any difficulty in crossing from Egypt into Gaza, adding "I hope that Egypt will keep the crossing opened to make it easier for the population."

After Israel imposed the blockade on the Gaza Strip, and prohibited various kinds of goods, food products and raw materials for construction and industry, the Palestinians dug thousands of tunnels underneath the borderline between Gaza and Egypt, where various kinds of goods had been smuggled.

However, Israel believed that lifting the blockade would give Hamas and Iran a political victory and would undermine the opportunities of reaching a peace agreement.

by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly

Israel threatens to board Gaza-bound aid ship

GAZA CITY — The Israeli military threatened to board the Rachel Corrie aid ship on Saturday after it ignored orders to change tack and steamed on towards Gaza risking a potentially explosive confrontation.

A military spokesman said the ship had ignored three calls to dock in the southern Israeli port of Ashdod and had been warned that the vessel would be boarded by naval forces if it did not change course.

"Our soldiers will board you if you refuse to change course... We are ready to use force to defend ourselves," spokeswoman Avital Leibovitz told the BBC, quoting the message relayed to the vessel.

The latest confrontation comes just five days after Israeli naval commandos boarded another aid ship in a deadly raid which left nine activists dead, most of them Turkish.

A Twitter feed from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the boat was 28 nautical miles from the coast.

"The Rachel Corrie is now 28 miles from shore, have rejected 3 requests from IDF navy to dock @ Ashdod Port," it said.

International waters begin some 20 nautical miles off the coast, so the feed indicated the ship was outside Israeli or Gazan waters without saying exactly where.

"We indicated several times to the organisers aboard the ship that they should head to the port of Ashdod as there is a blockade in force on the Gaza Strip, but they ignored our appeals and are continuing to head towards Gaza," a military spokeswoman said earlier.

Activists on board the ship had previously indicated they would not heed Israeli calls to change course, and would continue to head for their destination -- although they were prepared to let their cargo be inspected.

Earlier, a spokesman for the Gaza-based welcoming committee told AFP the Rachel Corrie had been intercepted and all communications with the ship cut.

"Several Israeli boats surrounded them between 30 and 35 miles off Gaza and prevented them from reaching Gaza," Amjad al-Shawa said after speaking by telephone with passengers on the boat.

In a last communique issued at around 5:38 am (0238 GMT), activist Jenny Graham, who is on board the Rachel Corrie, told organisers the vessel was being approached by two Israeli warships.

Graham said equipment on board had been "jammed by the Israeli navy, and that they expected their satellite phone to be jammed soon as well," the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said, adding that it was not able to determine the ship's location when it was intercepted.

Israel had warned it would stop the Rachel Corrie -- a 1,200-tonne cargo ship named after a US activist killed in 2003 as she tried to prevent an Israeli bulldozer from razing a Palestinian home.

The vessel had been due to join a flotilla of ships which tried to run the blockade earlier this week but was held up for technical reasons.

Israeli naval commandos raided the flotilla before dawn on Monday in a bungled operation which left nine foreign activists dead, most of them Turkish, and scores wounded, among them seven Israeli soldiers.

By Adel Zaanoun (AFP) – 5 hours ago