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Palestine | InternationalBorder politics leaves Palestinians stranded
Wednesday, January 2, 2008 :CAIRO, Jan 2 (IPS) - Hundreds of Palestinians still remain stranded on the Egyptian side of the border following last summer's closure of the Rafah crossing between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Their uncertain circumstances have come to reflect the complex politics between Cairo, Tel Aviv, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Their uncertain circumstances have come to reflect the complex politics between Cairo, Tel Aviv, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"The crisis on the border is just a part of the ongoing power struggle between Fatah and Hamas," Gamal Zahran, political science professor at Suez Canal University and independent MP, told IPS. The Rafah crossing has traditionally served as the sole transit point along Egypt's 14 km border with the Gaza Strip. In June, however, days before control of the strip was wrested from Fatah by Hamas, Cairo -- citing security concerns -- sealed the Rafah terminal. The closure effectively eliminated the territory's only sovereign border crossing. Virtually all other routes in or out of the Gaza Strip, by sea or land, are under the strict control of the Israeli authorities. Recently dubbed a "hostile" region by Tel Aviv, the Gaza Strip remains subject to a crippling, almost two-year-long embargo that has largely destroyed its economy. Backed by Israel and the US, both of which consider Hamas a "terrorist organization," the siege has deprived the territory -- home to more than 1.5 million people -- of badly-needed moneys and vital supplies. Read More
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Wednesday Jan 9th, 2008 6:35 AM
The plight of Palestinian pilgrims stranded in northern Sinai is approaching an end but the trauma of Gaza will continue, reports Dina Ezzat from Arish
--- "We cannot be left stranded for long. It is not an option. We have to go back, and sooner rather than later... If we are kept here then there will be serious demonstrations," said Khamis Al-Naggar, an Islamist member of the Palestinian parliament, reflecting on the crisis faced by 2,500 Palestinian pilgrims who arrived by boat from the Red Sea port of Nuweiba after completing the hajj. Their journey began early in December when they entered Egypt from Gaza via the Rafah crossing. The Egyptian authorities, fearing riots on the Gaza side of the crossing, had opened Rafah to allow the pilgrims' emergency transit. Readying themselves for the holiest rite of Islam, Palestinian pilgrims had refused to pass through the Kerm Abu Salem crossing that links Egypt with Israel for fear of being subject to random arrests by Israeli forces. Under the 2005 American supervised agreement Palestinian Authority security officers and European Union observers are supposed to control the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing point, while Egypt is not supposed to open its side in the absence of Palestinian and European Union partners. Since the Hamas take-over of Gaza last June the crossing -- the only exit for the population of the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel -- has been closed. More |