Hamas PM attempts return as militants seize crossing
Hamas militants today burst into the Rafah border terminal, sparking a gunbattle with guards before taking control of the crossing.
They were angry that Israel was preventing prime minister Ismail Haniyeh from returning to Gaza with millions of dollars in cash.
Travellers at the terminal took cover and a top Hamas official furiously tried to persuade the militants to disperse.
Following the gunbattle, European monitors said the border would not be reopened today, although it appeared Haniyeh might still be able to cross from Egypt.
Haniyeh, of the Islamic militant Hamas group, tonight headed to the border in an attempt to cross without the money, said Palestinian official Hani Jabour, who was with him.
Jabour said Israel had agreed to let Haniyeh in without the cash.
A senior Israeli security official said they were not trying to block Haniyeh’s entry, only trying to keep out the money he was transporting.
The official said Israel had information that the money would be used to strengthen Hamas or fund terror attacks, but he declined to provide further details.
In the chaos of the attack, two loud explosions rocked the border area, and security officials said militants had blown a hole in the border fence about half a mile from the terminal.
Haniyeh cut short a lengthy trip abroad to return to Gaza to try to quell growing internal tensions between his Hamas group and its rivals in Fatah.
But Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz today ordered the border closed to prevent him from bringing in tens of millions of dollars he had raised abroad for his cash-strapped government, Israeli security officials said.
Under an agreement signed a year ago, Israel does not have the right to close the border, but it has used the threat of military action to force the border to close repeatedly in recent months.
Haniyeh’s government has been badly crippled by international economic sanctions that have left it unable to pay full salaries to its 165,000 workers. Top Hamas officials have recently smuggled millions of dollars over the border to help keep the government afloat.
A Palestinian official said Haniyeh was carrying £18 million he had raised during his recent trip, which included stops in Syria and Iran.
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, was talking to Israeli officials to arrange Haniyeh’s return, the official said.
Hamas militants waiting outside the terminal grew impatient waiting for Haniyeh’s return and broke into the compound, shooting in the air.
The Palestinian Presidential Guard, responsible for security at the terminal, began firing at them, according to a journalist at the terminal.
Travellers in the terminal lobby ran for cover, some carrying their luggage. Women and children hid behind walls and nearby taxis outside. Two Hamas militants were wounded in the gunfight.
The Hamas militants, chanting “God is Great, let’s liberate this place” took over the arrival hall, and the border guards escorted the European monitors to safety.
“There is chaos here,” said Wael Dahab, a spokesman for the Presidential Guard.
Hamas radio called on people in southern Gaza to head to the border to “break the seige” on Haniyeh.
About 15,000 Hamas supporters gathered at the gate to the terminal, some of them firing in the air, in protest until Haniyeh’s return.
Haniyeh aide Ahmed Yousef ran into the terminal to try to persuade the gunmen to leave.
“To all the Hamas masses who came here, please get out of the crossing and wait for the prime minister to come to the other side,” he said.
Most of the Hamas militants left the terminal, but several hundred remained inside.
Maria Telleria, spokeswoman for the EU monitoring mission, said all 16 monitors had been safely evacuated and the border would remain closed today.
“Now it is dark, the monitors will not be coming back,” she said. “But I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow.”
