Three of 10 Gazans entered Egypt; Hamas seized moment to smuggle explosives
GAZA CITY — About 30 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip has left for neighboring Egypt after a border wall was destroyed.
Officials said about 400,000 Palestinians, many of them prepared for a long stay, rushed the eastern border and entered Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Egyptian authorities, which used live fire and tear gas against would-be Palestinian infiltrators on Jan. 22, were ordered not to respond.
"I told [security forces] to allow them to buy their basic needs and go back to Gaza as long as they are not carrying arms or anything illegal," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Wednesday. "They entered to buy food. They will return."
Israeli sources said Hamas exploited the chaos to smuggle thousands of weapons and explosives from Sinai, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the destruction of the wall was planned by Hamas for several weeks in an attempt to replenish its raw material stockpile for rockets and missiles.
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Friday, January 25, 2008
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