HAMAS BORDER PROTEST FLOPS

Hamas Protest Flops, Reuters and AP Shill Anyway

(LGF)

Hamas was predicting 40,000 to 50,000 demonstrators on the border between Gaza and Israel today; they got less than 5,000.

But that’s OK; Reuters Palestinian propagandist Nidal al-Mughrabi calls it a “mass protest” anyway: Gazans stage mass protest against Israeli blockade.

Al-Mughrabi also calls it “peaceful,” which it was if you overlook the rockets fired into Israel and the arrests of 50 stone-throwing “youths.”

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Thousands of Palestinians formed a human chain in the Gaza Strip on Monday in a protest against an Israeli blockade that has deepened hardship in the Hamas-controlled territory.

Israel had put troops on alert along the frontier and threatened to open fire if protesters tried to surge across the border. Organizers had forecast 40,000 to 50,000 participants but only about 4,500 people turned out in inclement weather.

Although the event, promoted by Hamas Islamists and allied activists, was peaceful, militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets at southern Israel while the protest was under way, wounding a child.

After the human chain broke up, Palestinian youngsters hurled rocks at Israeli soldiers at Gaza’s Erez border crossing. The Israeli army said it detained 50 stone-throwers.

The Associated Press, on the other hand, doesn’t even mention the rockets or the stone-throwers: Hamas Gaza protest passes peacefully.

Crisis Averted . . .

NOAH POLLAK - (CONTENTIONS)

All I can say is: what a relief — the Israel-Gaza border is calm today. Last night, at almost 10 PM, expecting the worst, the Israeli embassy in Washington took the unusual step of issuing a preemptive statement on what was believed to be an impending public-relations disaster:

Hamas is behind an intentional action that yet again places Palestinian civilians on the front lines. Israel does not interfere in demonstrations taking place inside the Gaza Strip, but Israel will protect its borders and will prevent any violations of its sovereign territory. Israel is acting to prevent any deterioration of the situation but wishes to unequivocally clarify that if this does happen, the sole responsibility lies directly on Hamas’ shoulders.

An Israeli government contact who I spoke with last night was anxious, saying that the IDF and police were anticipating a horrible turn of events: a massive attempt, orchestrated by Hamas, to push civilians by the thousands into Israel. The Israelis would be forced to choose between two terrible options: either contain the incursion through force of arms, or let it through — there would really be no middle choice. Would the IDF and police send rubber bullets and tear gas into a crowd that included women and children? Would they have any other choice, short of simply permitting a Hamas invasion of Israel?

All of this was intended by Hamas and its Iranian patron to take the fight to Israel in the most reliable arena that exists for them today: the media. Put images of tear-gassed Palestinian children on the front pages of the world’s newspapers, and enjoy, for a few blissful days, watching Israel get engulfed by paroxysms of false moral outrage. It would have been a brilliant strategy — if only the crowds had shown up. Perhaps today the people of Gaza feel that they don’t owe so much to Hamas, after all.

Oops!

DAVID HAZONY - CONTENTIONS

Today was supposed to be Ismail Haniyeh’s big day. A huge demonstration of Gazans was slated to protest the Israeli blockade. The “longest human chain in the world,” we were told, was going to link arms from Gaza City to Rafiah. Maybe they would storm the border, like they did with Egypt. Hundreds of thousands, maybe even more. Israelis warned that they would respond in force, and sent reinforcements pouring towards the border. Hamas, we were told, was in a “win-win” situation; either they would succeed in breaking the blockade, or they would get such great coverage of Israeli brutality that no one would care if they failed.

But only 5,000 people showed up.

We have no idea exactly what went wrong. But we are left with two possibilities, and two alone: (1) Gazans don’t really care so much about the blockade, or (2) Israel outmaneuvered Hamas in its diplomatic and military preparations, and Haniyeh understood he had little to gain–in which case, we should never again believe that Gaza protests are spontaneous displays of genuine outrage, but rather programmed rallies dictated from above, as we always thought.

Looks like it’s lose-lose for Hamas.

PALIS READY ENORMOUS WOMEN AND CHILDREN HUMAN SHIELD IN GAZA

Israel prepares for mass protests at Gaza border
JERUSALEM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Israel has put paramilitary police on standby and boosted surveillance along the Gaza border in case Palestinians try to break through into Israel as they did in Egypt last month, security sources said on Sunday.

A pro-Hamas group said it would hold a peaceful protest on Monday in which it estimated that 40,000 to 50,000 women and children would form a “human chain” stretching the length of the Gaza Strip. Organisers said they had no intention of breaching the border.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli Defence Forces said: “The IDF is preparing based on reports from the Palestinian media.” She declined to elaborate.

Israel became increasingly concerned after Hamas Islamists blew open Gaza’s southern Rafah border wall with Egypt last month, and Hamas officials raised the possibility of similar breaches along the border with Israel. ...

The head of the Popular Anti-Siege Committee protest organisers, Jamal al-Khudary, said: “We do not have intentions of approaching the fence, either in the north or the south. We hope all the participants will abide by the instructions and we will try to prevent any violations.”

Organisers said Hamas-controlled schools across Gaza would get time off to allow students to take part in the protest.

An Israeli security source said the army was preparing for “all scenarios”.

“Obviously, if gunmen start shooting at the fence we will have to respond in kind and we are absolutely unwilling to countenance a situation where the fence is breached like it was at Rafah,” the source said.

HAMAS FIRES AT EGYPTIAN BUILDERS OF NEW GAZA WALL

Hamas Fires at Egyptian Builders to Prevent New Gaza Border Wall - Abdel-Rahman Hussein
Hamas fired shots over the heads of Egyptian workers building a new concrete wall on the border between Egypt and Gaza on Tuesday, causing them to flee. "Sources in Gaza say that Hamas will fire at anyone attempting to build the wall unless the Rafah border crossing is reopened," said Sinai resident Hussein El Qayem. (Daily News-Egypt)

EGPYT THREATENS TO SHOOT GAZA BORDER CROSSERS

'We'll shoot anyone who crosses border' (JPost)
A top Hamas delegation crossed into Egypt Thursday to meet up with Egyptian officials wanting to make clear that no further breaches of its border with the Gaza Strip will be tolerated, a security official said.

The Hamas delegation, led by Mahmoud Zahar, came at the Egyptian request, after they received reports that the Islamist organization was planning to forcibly reopen the borders again at the end of the month, the official said speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

"The Egyptians will tell Hamas bluntly that the old self-restraint manner is over and that Egyptian security guards have been given orders to open fire on any Palestinians trying to cross the border," the official said.

SEE ALSO: IMAGINE THE REACTION IF ISRAEL HAD SAID THIS

IMAGINE THE REACTION IF ISRAEL HAD SAID THIS

Egypt threatens to break the legs of Gaza infiltrators
CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt said on Thursday it would no longer tolerate Palestinians infiltrating the country from the Gaza Strip, and threatened to break the legs of anyone crossing the Rafah border illegally. "Anyone who breaches the border will have their legs broken," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was quoted as saying by the official MENA news agency on public television overnight.

ISRAEL TO BUILD EGYPT BORDER FENCE

Israel to build Egypt border fence (JPost)
Israel will soon begin construction of a security fence along certain parts of the Israeli-Egyptian border, it was decided Wednesday in a meeting between the prime minister, defense minister, foreign minister and security officials.

The fence will be built in northern Nitzana and southern Eilat, regions considered to be particularly vulnerable to infiltration. Monitoring of other areas will be reinforced by additional ground forces and aerial observation measures.

The need for a fence along the open border with Egypt was highlighted recently by the breaching of the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move freely between the two territories, as well as - Israel believes - enabling many terrorists to sneak into Sinai.

The construction of the fence is expected to last several years and may force across-the-board budget cuts of an estimated NIS 1 billion.

FOX TO GUARD HEN HOUSE

HAMAS WILL NOW BE KEEPING AN EYE ON ITSELF ON THE GAZA BORDER.

Hamas Agrees to Joint Rafah Border Control with Abbas' Forces; Mubarak: Gaza Will Never Be Part of Egypt - Khaled Abu Toameh
Hamas is not opposed to joint Palestinian management of the Gaza crossings, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said Thursday. After talks between Hamas leaders and Egyptian government officials in Cairo, Zahar told Al Jazeera that Hamas would not object to Mahmoud Abbas' Presidential Guard controlling the Rafah crossing on condition that Israel had no say over procedures there. Hamas leaders stressed during the talks in Cairo that they were strongly opposed to the return of PA security forces to the border crossing under the terms of a 2005 U.S.-brokered agreement.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told the Italian daily La Republica that Gaza would never be part of Egypt, and that Israel's dream of "throwing the Strip" at the Egyptians was "only a dream." Egyptian police have raided dozens of houses in Al-Arish and other towns in search of Palestinians planning to stay in Egypt. Egypt is reported to have deployed 25,000 policemen and soldiers in Sinai as part of a massive crackdown aimed at forcing all the Palestinians who entered Egypt to return to Gaza. While vehicles are prevented from crossing, pedestrians continued to pour across the border. (Jerusalem Post)

'Hamas won't allow border closure' (JPost)
Hundreds of Hamas supporters protested on the breached Gaza-Egypt border Friday to demand it remain open, while Egyptian troops poured cement and laid down metal spikes in a new attempt to halt the influx of Gazans.

Gaza's Hamas rulers want a role in running the border with Egypt, a demand rejected this week by Egypt and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

It remains unclear whether Hamas will use force to keep the border open.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, said he would not allow the border to be resealed.

HAMAS THREATENS TO OVERRUN ISRAELI BORDER NEXT

Hamas Threatens to Overrun Israeli Border Next
(IsraelNN.com) Encouraged by their success in breaking through the Egyptian border with Gaza last week, a Hamas spokesman has threatened to gather 500,000 Palestinian Authority residents of the region for a similar assault on the perimeter fence dividing southern Israel from PA-controlled Gaza.

Ahmad Yousef, political advisor to the Gaza-based PA leader Ismail Haniyeh, called the fall of the barrier between Egyptian Sinai and Gaza last week a sign of the start of “a third Intifada.” Speaking with the PA's Bethlehem-based Maan news agency, Yousef said the next stage in such a campaign could involve thousands of Gazan Arabs swarming the IDF-controlled Erez Crossing between Israel and and the PA in an effort to attract international support.

EGYPTIAN RIOT POLICE AT GAZA BORDER CROSSING

Egypt moves to control border / Riot police struggle to keep Palestinian shoppers from crossing over from Gaza Strip
Egyptian border guards and police beat a Palestinian trying to enter Egypt from the walled-in Gaza Strip. Associated Press photo by Khalil Hamra (SFGate)

CONFRONTING EGYPT OVER LAX BORDER SECURITY

Israeli Defense Minister Meets Egyptian President in Egypt - Amos Harel and Barak Ravid
Defense Minister Ehud Barak traveled to Egypt on Wednesday for meetings with the Egyptian leadership on the continued arms smuggling from Sinai into Gaza, and efforts to achieve a tahadiyeh, (calm) between the Palestinian militant groups and Israel. The increasingly dominant assessment in the Israeli defense establishment is that the Hamas leadership is inclined to support a tahadiyeh even though it is not unified on this matter. (Ha'aretz)

See also More Tapes Showing Egyptian Complicity in Gaza Smuggling - Roni Sofer
Government officials told Ynet on Tuesday that the IDF has in its possession additional videotapes which prove Egypt's complicity in the ongoing smuggling of weapons and terrorists into Gaza. "The Egyptian unease is trivial in comparison to the lack of security for citizens of the State of Israel - to whom the rocket attacks, explosive devices, and mortars smuggled into Israel from the Philadelphi corridor are addressed," a government official said. Israel has said that given the tons of explosives that have been smuggled into Gaza in recent months, it was left with no choice but to confront the Egyptians on the matter. The Intelligence Branch of the IDF's Southern Command claims that weapons and explosive materiel pass through Egypt's Sinai desert unhindered and there has been a steep increase in the extent of smuggling in the last year. (Ynet News)

Barak to Confront Mubarak with Gaza Smuggling Evidence - Yaakov Katz and Herb Keinon
One senior defense official said that Egypt's decision to unilaterally open the Rafah crossing earlier this month and allow 2,000 Palestinians, including a number of terrorists en-route to Iran, to leave Gaza was "grounds for a diplomatic crisis." A government source said that Israel wants good relations with Egypt and sees its relationship with Cairo as a key strategic interest. But, the source said, "there is frustration on the Israeli side about what goes on at the border. We understand that the Egyptians can't do everything, but they must do more. The strengthening of Hamas is not just a threat to Israel, but a threat to the Palestinian Authority and to regional stability."

Diplomatic officials said that Egyptian inaction stems from a number of different reasons, including: An economic interest, since the arms smuggling is a multi-million dollar "industry" for those involved on the Egyptian side. An interest in not exacerbating ties with Sinai Bedouin, who are believed to be involved in the smuggling and who have a tense relationship with the central government in Cairo. An interest in letting the arms smuggling continue in order to place pressure on Israel to open up the Camp David Accords and let the Egyptians increase the number of soldiers on the border. General ineffectiveness of the Egyptian security forces. A belief that Hamas is now well ensconced in Gaza, and that it is not in Egypt's interest to push Hamas too hard, lest they push back and cause domestic problems in Egypt via the Muslim Brotherhood. (Jerusalem Post)
U.S. Lawmakers: Egypt Aid May Hinge on Gaza Border
Two U.S. lawmakers said on Wednesday that the U.S. could make financial aid to Egypt conditional on Cairo doing more to prevent smuggling of arms into Hamas-controlled Gaza. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) both sit on the powerful appropriations committees that control U.S. foreign aid spending. "It's an intolerable situation for Egypt to be complicitous in letting arms be smuggled to Hamas. They (Egypt) get a lot of U.S. largesse, a lot of U.S. money, $2 billion a year," Specter said. (Reuters)
Barak Meets Mubarak in Egypt - Yaakov Katz
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday in Sharm e-Sheikh. Barak discussed weapons smuggling as well as other regional issues such as the Iranian threat. Israeli defense officials said Egypt is just as concerned about Iran as Israel is.

Despite tension over smuggling across the Egypt-Gaza border, Israel and Egypt are not ready to give up the strategic alliance they have managed to forge since they signed a peace agreement almost 30 years ago. Both countries are aware that they need one another. Israel sees peace with Egypt as a model for other Arab and Muslim countries. On the other side, Egypt views its relations with Israel as a strategic asset. Cairo recognizes the fact that Israel and the Jewish lobby have a great deal of influence in Washington. (Jerusalem Post)

See also Egypt Vows to End Weapons Smuggling - Yaakov Katz
Egypt will begin to crack down on weapons smugglers along the Philadelphi corridor into Gaza until Israel no longer has anything to complain about, Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman said Wednesday. (Jerusalem Post)

Egypt's Mubarak Says Israel Faked Smuggling Evidence (Reuters)
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has accused Israel of fabricating evidence it says implicates Egyptian security forces in helping Hamas militants smuggle arms into Gaza, Egypt's state news agency MENA reported on Thursday. Israel had sent a videotape to Washington showing this.

"Our officials (saw the pictures)...and I'm informing you that they're fabricated pictures and computer work.... Anybody can make pictures of arms smugglers....I can organize pictures of an Israeli man and an Israeli woman smuggling arms and plotting a terrorist operation," Mubarak said.

"Anyone who tries to accuse Egypt of cooperating with arms smugglers, I tell him he's a big liar....If the way we deal with the arms smuggling is not good enough for you, please, do the work yourselves."

ISRAEL HAS VIDEO OF EGYPT HELPING HAMAS TERRORISTS CROSS GAZA BORDER

Israel Has Video of Egypt Helping Hamas Terrorists Cross Gaza Border - Yaakov Katz, Herb Keinon, and Hilary Leila Krieger (Jerusalem Post)
Israel is sending video footage - which shows Egyptian security forces assisting Hamas terrorists cross illegally into Gaza - to the U.S. Congress to pressure Egypt to clamp down on Hamas smuggling activities.

The House and Senate agreed Sunday to hold back $100 million in military aid for Egypt unless Secretary of State Rice certifies that concerns about smuggling weapons into Gaza and human rights abuses have been addressed.

Last week, Israel filed an official complaint with Cairo after Egypt unilaterally opened the Rafah Crossing and allowed Palestinians who claimed to be traveling to Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage to leave Gaza. Israel has received intelligence indicating that among the 1,700 pilgrims are a significant number of Palestinian terrorists who traveled to Iran and Lebanon for military training.

IDF KILLS 2 TERRORISTS AT GAZA BORDER FENCE

Palestinian Gunmen Open Fire at IDF Near Gaza Border Fence
Two Palestinian gunmen spotted advancing towards the border fence between Israel and Gaza just north of the Karni goods crossing were killed on Sunday evening after opening fire and throwing hand grenades at an IDF force. The troops fired back and the army said both gunmen were hit. (Ynet News)

ISRAELI TROOPS KILL TERRORISTS TRYING TO ENTER ISRAEL FROM GAZA

Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Militants Trying to Enter Israel From Gaza (FoxNews)
JERUSALEM — Under the cover of fog, two heavily armed Palestinian militants on Saturday used a rope and ladder to scale a massive border wall and enter Israel from Gaza, attacking an army base with explosives and gunfire before they were tracked down and killed by Israeli troops.

The infiltration was the latest incident in a spike of violence that left eight Palestinians dead in less than 24 hours. Among those killed was an 11-year-old boy shot Friday while visiting relatives in a West Bank village.

Militants frequently attack the Israeli border. But Saturday's infiltration was one of the few times they have managed to slip through the heavily fortified fence enclosing Gaza.

U.N. CALLS FOR ISRAEL TO OPEN GAZA BORDER

UN to Israel: Open Your Borders (LGF)

Hamas has set up a totalitarian Islamist government in Gaza, building stocks of weaponry and ammunition and preparing for war with Israel. Poisonous propaganda floods the airwaves of their Al Aqsa TV channel. Their goal of destroying the state of Israel has not changed. In the past two months, Hamas and their cronies from other terror gangs have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, trying to commit random murder and sow fear in the cities near the Gaza border.

And the people of Gaza voted overwhelmingly to put the genocidal terrorist group in office.

So naturally, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East, Michael Williams, wants Israel to open the Gaza border.

Without a hint of awareness that opening the border would inevitably lead to attacks inside Israel by Palestinian terrorists. They’re reduced to using mortars and rockets only because they aren’t able to deploy the suicide bombers.

JERUSALEM - Israel must provide more freedom of movement in the West Bank and open crossings into Gaza to avoid driving even more Palestinians into poverty after Hamas seized the coastal strip two months ago, the United Nations Mideast envoy said Wednesday.

Israel’s decision to shut Gaza’s borders to all but humanitarian aid in the wake of Hamas’ takeover is threatening an already badly damaged economy — and “this shows every sign of getting worse,” Michael Williams said in an interview with The Associated Press and two other media outlets. “We do not see how that can be changed short of opening additional crossing points, particularly Karni,” Williams said, referring to Gaza’s main cargo crossing with Israel.

Earlier this month, the U.N. warned that Gaza soon will become entirely dependent on foreign aid and face “disastrous consequences” if the Hamas-run territory remains sealed off. A Palestinian business group warned that at least 120,000 more Gazans could lose their jobs. ...

Williams praised Israel’s recent release of Palestinian prisoners and transfer of millions of dollars in frozen tax funds to Abbas’ government. But Williams said he is “concerned that we haven’t seen further steps,” and urged Israel to release more prisoners and dismantle illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank.

“An elementary constituent of economic development is freedom of movement, and to a very considerable extent that does not exist in the West Bank,” he said.

SHORTAGES IN GAZA HAMPER ROCKET FIRE

Shortages in Gaza Hamper Rocket Fire - Ali Waked (Ynet News)
With the closure of border crossings into Gaza, shortages in fertilizer and steel used by Palestinian terror groups to produce rockets have led to a decrease in the number of rockets fired towards Israel. Palestinian operatives confirmed the shortages, but said they still had large quantities of rockets stored in secret caches. Rockets continued to be fired towards Israel, with three rockets landing in the western Negev on Sunday.

HAMAS COLLECTS TAXES ON FOOD IMPORTS FROM ISRAEL

Hamas Collects Taxes on Food Imports from Israel - Nidal al-Mughrabi
Since the Islamists took over Gaza in June, Israel has shut the main commercial crossing at Karni, citing security concerns. That left the Sufa crossing, where, in the absence of formal Israeli-Palestinian coordination, goods from Israel are offloaded during the morning and then Palestinian merchants are allowed in to pick up the cargo and take it to market. Merchants said they can't get their products to market without first paying 2,000 shekels ($465) in fees to Hamas, despite a decree by Mahmoud Abbas exempting individuals and companies from paying such taxes. "(Abbas) is not here. Hamas is here and they say pay and load your trucks - so we pay," said Gaza produce dealer Mohammad Attaweel. (Reuters)

EGYPT KILLS 4 SUDANESE REFUGEES TRYING TO ENTER ISRAEL

'Egyptians killed 4 Sudanese on border' (JPost)
Egyptian soldiers killed four Sudanese refugees near the Egypt-Israel border overnight Wednesday in full view of IDF troops, a shaken-sounding IDF soldier said in an interview with Channel 10, Thursday evening.

According to the soldier, female IDF troops operating night vision devices identified several refugees approaching the border in an attempt to infiltrate Israel and alerted other soldiers who arrived after a few minutes in an army jeep.

However, Egyptian troops who also discovered the refugees, fired upon them, immediately killing two and wounding a third. A fourth refugee ran towards the fence and an IDF soldier stretched out his hands, trying to help him cross.

At that point, the soldier recalled, two Egyptian soldiers arrived and started pulling at the refugee’s legs.

“It was literally like we were playing ‘tug of war’ with this man,” the soldier said. The soldier eventually loosened his grip on the man, fearing the Egyptians would shoot him. “They were aiming loaded weapons straight at us, I was afraid they were going to shoot us,” he said.

The Egyptians then carried the man several meters away from the border fence, and proceeded to beat him and another wounded refugee to death with stones and clubs.

“What happened there yesterday was a lynch. These are not men, they’re animals. They killed him without even using firearms,” the soldier said. “We just heard screams of pain and the sounds of beatings. Then the screams stopped.”

U.N. BLAMES ISRAEL FOR HAMAS'S DESTRUCTION OF GAZA

UN Mideast Envoy Shills for Hamas (LGF)
The United Nations’ Middle East envoy says Israel needs to open their borders with the Hamas terror state, and blames Israel for the nightmarish state of Gaza: UN Mideast envoy warns of Gaza collapse.

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Mideast envoy warned Wednesday of impending economic collapse in the Gaza Strip unless Israel reopens the Hamas-led territory’s main commercial crossing to the outside world to ease international isolation.

Michael Williams said the closure of the Karni crossing in early June has prevented the export of agricultural and industrial goods to Israel, the West Bank and elsewhere, as well as the import of materials needed for manufacturing and construction. The restriction has brought the Gaza economy to a standstill.

The World Bank estimates that 75 percent of Gaza’s factories have closed and more than 68,000 Palestinian workers have been laid off as a result, he said.

“Unless the crossings are open for imports and exports, the downward economic spiral will lead to extensive hardship for an already impoverished Gaza Strip,” Williams told the U.N. Security Council in his regular monthly briefing on the Middle East.

The Palestinians in Gaza voted overwhelmingly for Hamas, and got exactly what they wanted—a radical Islamic government that could not care less about their welfare.

(Un)Fair Trade by Emanuele Ottolenghi (Contentions)
Speaking at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Michael Williams noted that “Unless the crossings [into Gaza] are open for imports and exports, the downward economic spiral will lead to extensive hardship for an already impoverished Gaza Strip.” He also highlighted the plight of 6,000 Palestinians, currently stranded in Egypt, who cannot re-enter the Strip because Hamas will only let them in through the Rafah crossing (which Israel has relinquished), while Egypt and Israel are ready to let them in only through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Why anyone would wish to re-enter Gaza may be a mystery. But that question is beside the point. Israel is not the only country sharing a border with Gaza, though it is the only country bordering Gaza that Gaza’s rulers wish and work to destroy. That the UN wants Israel to conduct trade negotiations with them boggles the mind.

ABBAS ASKS EGYPT TO KEEP GAZA BORDER CLOSED

IMAGINE THE HAND-WRINGING BY THE U.N. AND E.U. IF ISRAEL ASKED THAT THE BORDER BE CLOSED OR REFUSED TO OPEN A BORDER CROSSING.

Abbas Asks to Keep Gaza-Egypt Border Closed - Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid and Jonathan Lis
Mahmoud Abbas requested that Israel and Egypt prevent the movement of people from Egypt to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing after Hamas' mid-June takeover of the Strip, Palestinian sources said Tuesday. Abbas said if the crossing is opened, Hamas will be able to bring thousands of people into Gaza without supervision - including activists who would strengthen the group. Abbas asked that the Kerem Shalom Israel-Gaza border point be used for Gazans stranded in Egypt, but Hamas refused. (Ha'aretz)

See also Riots Erupt in Egypt-Gaza Border Airport
About 100 Palestinians smashed doors and windows inside an airport building in el-Arish in Egypt Tuesday after being trapped there for more than a month since the Gaza-Egypt border's closure. The Palestinians had first arrived at Cairo airport from trips abroad and were transferred under security supervision to el-Arish airport, where they had expected to travel onward to Gaza. But they have been stuck in el-Arish airport since Egypt sealed its border with Gaza after the Hamas takeover last month. (AP/Jerusalem Post)