Sources in the Strip and in Egypt estimated that some 500,000 Gazans have already crossed over to the Egyptian side
Despite attempts by Egyptian border guards to prevent the further entry of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip into Egypt Friday, Gazans continued to pour en masse through the breached border during the day. Egypt has set an ultimatum for the Palestinians to return to Gaza by 7 pm, but on Friday evening, after the ultimatum has already expired, tens of thousands of Palestinians were still on the Egyptian side of the border. Egyptian forces took up positions a few steps into Palestinian territory, using shields to protect themselves from some Gazans who climbed atop car roofs and threw stones at them. Witnesses said a photographer was lightly injured in the clash. The influx included a gaggle of Palestinian women in finely embroidered dresses and fresh makeup, heading to relatives' weddings in Egypt they said had been hastily moved up to allow Gazan family members to attend. In an interview published Friday, President Hosni Mubarak called the situation in Gaza "unacceptable" and called on Israel to "lift its siege" and "solve the problem."Mubarak said."They should get things back to normal according to previous agreements and understandings," Mubarak told the weekly Al-Osboa. He also invited rival Palestinian factions to Cairo for talks, but did not mention a date. The opening of the border, even if temporary, provided a significant popularity boost to Gaza's Hamas rulers, who can claim they successfully broke through the internationally supported Israeli closure that has deprived the coastal strip of normal trade and commerce for nearly two years. Both Egypt and Israel restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza after Hamas won parliament elections in 2006, and further tightened the closure after Hamas seized control of the area by force last June. A handful of black-clad Hamas gunmen fanned out along the Gaza side of the border Friday, attempting to create order amid waves of Gaza residents approaching the area. It was the first time since the border fence was torn down that Hamas deployed uniformed men to deal with the chaos. The group has been using plainclothes agents to regulate the crowd. (21,25)
