Egyptian security forces close Gaza border, stranded Palestinians threaten hunger strike in Al-Areesh mosques

Date: 29 / 01 / 2008 Time: 10:25

Gaza – Ma'an –

The Egyptian security services gradually started to resume control of the Egyptian frontier with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning using barbed wire to close gaps in the border wall.

Palestinians forced the border open almost a week ago.

Witnesses told Ma'an's reporter that Egyptian security has closed 11 openings in the wall so far, and only two remained open near the so-called Brazilian neighborhood and Tal As-Sultan. Egyptian-plated cars began to trickle back from the Gaza Strip into Egypt.

Meanwhile, the crowds of Gazans, who had flocked across the border to buy basic supplies, began to dwindle. The Egyptian city of Rafah has virtually run out of goods, while Al-Arish and Sheikh Zuwaid have been shut down by Egyptian security forces.

Heavy rain and cold weather also played a role in the decrease in movement of Palestinians across the border.

Meanwhile more than 1,500 Palestinians stranded in the Egyptian city of Al-Arish announced that they will begin hunger strike on Wednesday if the Egyptian authorities do not allow them to leave the Egyptian territories to other countries where they have study or business commitments.

The stranded Palestinians are currently staying in two mosques in the city which borders the Gaza Strip. They say their living conditions are dire due to cold weather and a lack of basic daily necessities.

Many of the Palestinians are suffering from chronic diseases, others are students who study abroad and the rest are employees who work in different Arab and foreign countries.

This is the sixth day they have been protesting in front of the Egyptian interior ministry's offices in the Sinai district. They are demanding that Egyptian authorities let them pass to the international airport in Cairo so they can fly to their destinations.

Since Wednesday last week, hundreds of thousands of Gazans have crossed the newly-opened Egyptian-Gaza border, mainly to shop for supplies made scarce by the Israeli blockade of the territory.

Most of the Gaza Strip's 1.5 million residents have been trapped inside the Gaza Strip for almost seven months when Palestinian fighters blew holes in the border wall last Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt to shop for basic supplies that were made scarce by Israel's ongoing blockade of the territory.

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