Region | Palestinian Territories
Almost the entire population of Gaza 'on vacation in Egypt'
At least 700,000 Gazans have flooded over the border into Egypt over the past two days - nearly half the territory's population of 1.5 million - the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees estimated on Thursday.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:04 January 25, 2008
- Egyptian soldiers clash with Palestinians trying to cross from Gaza into Egypt at the Rafah crossing.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Cairo: At least 700,000 Gazans have flooded over the border into Egypt over the past two days - nearly half the territory's population of 1.5 million - the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees estimated on Thursday.
"Around 400,000 people crossed yesterday and at least 300,000 have crossed so far today," the agency's Cairo director said.
Since fighters set off explosions bringing down stretches of the walls that mark the border between Gaza and Egypt on Tuesday night, Palestinians have poured across to stock up on supplies made scarce at home by an Israeli blockade imposed last Thursday.
Hundreds of Palestinians shuttled back and forth from Rafah yesterday as the town was transformed into a giant outdoor market. Egyptian and Palestinian merchants peddled food, fuel, cement, cigarettes and even Viagra.
A Hamas spokesman said the Islamist group had paid 16,000 government employees early so they could go shopping.
Prices
Prices in Rafah leapt five-fold. In Gaza City, prices that had shot higher due to shortages eased back and previously depleted market stalls in Gaza City were piled high with goods.
The streets of Gaza City were quiet.
"Almost the entire population of Gaza are on vacation in Egypt," said Khalid Ali, a Palestinian policeman guarding the hole in the fence.
Israel tightened its cordon around the Gaza Strip last week, briefly stopping fuel supplies to the territory's only power station and blocking aid shipments as part of a campaign it said was meant to prevent cross-border rocket attacks. The Jewish state has since allowed some fuel into Gaza but European and Western officials said it had limited deliveries in the past two days, leading to some power cuts in the enclave.
The plant's general manager, Derar Abu Sissi, said it may have to start shutting its turbines down again on Sunday night unless Israel approves a fresh delivery of EU-funded fuel.
The UN Human Rights Council said yesterday it deplored the "grave violations" being committed by Israel in Gaza, home to 1.5 million people, and demanded it lift the blockade.
Utilities
Echoing Vilnai's comments, an Israeli security official said Israel wanted Egypt to supply Gaza's utilities and act as a base for aid groups serving the territory, adding the government was working on proposals to shift responsibility to Cairo.
Esmail Haniyeh, Hamas's leader in Gaza, reiterated his call for Egypt and Abbas to meet Hamas in Cairo to secure an agreement to reopen Rafah on a permanent basis.
'Wrong assumption'
A top Egyptian official said on Thursday that Egypt's border with Gaza will go back to normal, and strongly rejected the idea - floated by Israel - that the Jewish state might relinquish all responsibility for the troubled Gaza Strip.
"This is a wrong assumption," Hussam Zaki, the official spokesman for Egypt's foreign ministry, said of Israeli hints that it was thinking of giving up all responsibility for Gaza, including supplying electricity, now that the territory's southern border with Egypt is open. "The current situation is only an exception and for temporary reasons," Zaki said. "The border will go back to normal." Zaki said Egypt had not been formally approached by Israel about any such proposal. Israel's deputy defence minister, Matan Vilnai, said yesterday that the country wanted to relinquish control.
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