Gaza-Egypt border crossing brought under control
The tense situation at the Gaza-Egypt border was brought under control today after it was stormed by a group of rebel policemen furious over a colleague’s killing, the Palestinian police chief said.
Alaa Housni said the stand-off at the Rafah crossing has ended, but said the border will probably not be reopened today and that European monitors would return either today or tomorrow.
The incident was the latest in a rash of takeovers and kidnappings in Gaza that have undermined the rule of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
About 100 policemen entered the Rafah compound and took up positions alongside border patrol officers at the customs section of the crossing, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said.
The European observers – responsible for monitoring the crossing and ensuring the terms of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement are upheld – fled the area, fearing the situation was spinning out of control.
The takeover is the latest in a rash of armed kidnappings and takeovers of government buildings that underscore the lawlessness in Gaza and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ inability to bring order to the coastal area following Israel’s withdrawal in September.
The border was closed because according to the Israeli-Palestinian agreement the crossing cannot operate if the European contingent is not present, said Julio De La Guardia, spokesman for the European monitors.
“Our monitors are now in the Kerem Shalom military base. When the situation is clear, and these people leave, we will go back to our work,” De La Guardia said. Kerem Shalom is an Israeli military base on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza.
Yesterday, a Palestinian police officer and a civilian were killed in a shootout that erupted between two rival families. The violence began when a member of one of the families was detained by police. The man’s relatives went to a local police station to free him, and clashes broke out. A third civilian was wounded in the gun battle and sporadic gunfire erupted around the hospital and elsewhere in Gaza City after the killings.
