|
Damascus/Rafah: Palestinian radical factions, including Hamas, called on the Egyptian authorities yesterday to keep its border with the territory open.
"We ask Egypt to reject the US and Israeli pressure and not close the border with Gaza but instead impose Egyptian and Palestinian sovereignty on the Rafah crossing," the factions said after a three-day meeting in Damascus.
Egyptian authorities announced earlier yesterday that they intended to reseal the frontier with Gaza after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had poured across unhindered through breaches in the border fence for three days.
But as a 1300 GMT deadline passed, a Palestinian bulldozer demolished two more sections of the barrier, allowing hundreds more people to cross.
National dialogue
The hardline groups based in Damascus - including Hamas and Islamic Jihad - also criticised the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) headed by Mahmoud Abbas, arguing it did not have the right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
They called for Abbas's Fatah group "to open a national dialogue and heal the divisions" with Palestinian ranks.
The general secretariat of Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) has said Syria committed a "grave error" in allowing the conference to take place and turn into a diatribe against the Palestinian government.
Tensions flared at the border yesterday as some Palestinians in the crowd threw stones at Egyptian police, who responded with batons and water cannon.
"I have two brothers still inside Egypt.
"They should not close the border until everyone returns," said one of the Palestinian stone throwers, 20-year-old Mohammad Al Masri.
Since fighters blew up the wall at Rafah, the border has been transformed into a giant open-air market, selling everything from goats to full size refrigerators.
One Palestinian bought a camel in the Egyptian coastal town of Al Arish for his wedding day and rode it all the way home to Gaza City, a distance of more than 80km.
"I bought a motorcycle, cigarettes, biscuits, corn chips, cheese and a small generator. I think they can close the border now," said 38-year-old Saeed Al Helo after crossing back into Gaza. "I think Gaza has enough food supplies for a month."
|
