9,000 Gazans still at large in Egyptian cities

Date: 08 / 02 / 2008 Time: 17:30
Bethlehem –

Ma'an -

More than 9,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including Hamas members, have disappeared into Egyptian cities, following the toppling of the Egyptian border near Rafah crossing on January 23, Major General Ahmed Abdul Hamid, Governor of North Sinai, revealed on Friday.

He said that the Egyptian security services are intensifying their efforts to arrest the 9,000, who have melted away into Egyptian cities and villages.

Some Muslim Brotherhood leaders are involved in hiding some of the Hamas members who got through the border, he added, confirming that some members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested in the Sinai Peninsula.

He claimed that members of the Muslim Brotherhood were involved in the demolition of the Egypt-Gaza border fence, helping Hamas members to cross into Egypt.

Abdul Hamid said a campaign has been implemented to deport all Palestinian infiltrators caught in Egyptian cities back to Gaza. 2,116 Palestinians have been sent back since Thursday, he said.

He stressed that the situation on the Egyptian border was now under full control.

A German news agency quoted a security source in Rafah as saying that the Egyptian authorities are still holding about 60 Palestinians inside an abandoned building in the town of Rafah in Egypt, as well as 65 Egyptians, including 50 women and children after they entered Egypt from Gaza.

They were detained on Wednesday following an incident when crowds threw stones at Egyptian border guards, injuring 20 soldiers.

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