On Gaza's borders, anxiety mounts
Israel relaxed travel restrictions Wednesday, allowing a few seriously ill Palestinians and all foreign nationals to leave Gaza.
from the June 21, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
The threat of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is increased pressure on Israel to open the Karni crossing, the main commercial junction, to humanitarian aid. The United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, "the reopening of Karni crossing is vital to prevent general food shortages in two to four weeks."
On the Israeli side of the Erez crossing Wednesday, two buses pulled away carrying about 90 Ukrainian nationals – most of them children – stranded in Gaza for days because of the backup at the crossing. A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Israel said there were an additional 100 Russians poised to cross, but Israeli officials had held up passage of males because of their Palestinian nationality.
Anxiety is also growing on the border between Gaza and Egypt that is known for the underground tunnels that ferry supplies to weapons. Egypt has been trying to crack down on the smuggling tunnels and is under pressure from Israel, which says weapons smuggled through them from Egypt are arming militants in Gaza.
At an Egyptian police checkpoint on the road to the border, an officer who did not give his name, voiced similar concerns.
"The Palestinians cause all the problems here. We are worried about [Hamas] because they are the reason of all the problems between the Palestinians now and all the problems are coming here. Especially we don't like the Hamas movement."
But Ibrahim Awad was more sympathetic to the Islamic movement. Mr. Awad has two small shops next to the Salahideen border crossing, a long-closed link with the Gaza Strip. He says that a bystander near the border was injured by a bullet from a Hamas militant this week.
"Just a day ago someone was just sitting here, and he was shot, but it wasn't on purpose," says Awad. "Anything that happens there, it affects here. Here and there is one country. It affects work and trade, also safety, everything."
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