Date: 25 / 01 / 2009  Time:  19:13
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

A group of six US military officers and engineers, including the US military attaché in Cairo, toured Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip in the town of Rafah, the BBC reported.

The men were reportedly looking into the possibility of installing high-tech sensing equipment to locate tunnels that are used to smuggle goods into Gaza.

Egypt says that it is willing to accept equipment or assistance from any country in order to help combat smuggling.

A team from the US Army Corps of Engineers has been in Egypt for months on a mission to help find and destroy the tunnels.

US military personnel have also reportedly been in Egypt for 40 days training Egyptian security personnel to use the new sensing equipment.

Egypt evacuates Rafah border fearing Israeli airstrike

Date: 25 / 01 / 2009  Time:  21:51
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies –

Egypt suddenly and rapidly evacuated its personnel from the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Sunday fearing a possible Israeli airstrike on the Palestinian side of the crossing, Egyptian security sources said.

The sources told Reuters that they staff and ambulances from the vicinity of the gates that control access to the crossing.

Flights by Israeli F-16s over Gaza earlier Sunday also sparked rumors that Israel was again going on the attack.

Egypt urges EU to intervene to reopen Gaza crossings

Monday January 26, 2009 07:24 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC&Agencies

Egypt urged the European Union to intervene for pressuring Israel to reopen Gaza border crossings, so a reconstruction process of Gaza after the recent Israeli war begins immediately.

Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmad Abu El-Gheit, was quoted as saying, "I would like to ask the EU to act very swiftly for the reconstruction of Gaza and helping the Palestinians recover from the current crisis". He told reporters, "we need to oblige Israel to negotiate and reopen border crossings in order to allow the Palestinians to live normally".

British foreign minister, David Milinad, was quoted by Reuters as saying, "reuniting the Palestinians under the authority of President Abbas is considered an imperative."  Luxembourg's foreign minister, Jan Eselborn, has called for forming a Palestinian national unity government.