RAFAH, Gaza Strip, Jan. 24, 2008
Wide-Open Gaza-Egypt Border Angers Israel
Thousands Of People Still Crossing At Will; Israel Says It Will Sever Ties With Gaza Strip
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A Palestinian woman is helped across a section of the destroyed border wall between Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, as they cross back into Gaza, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
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A Palestinian man pulls goats and sheep across a section of the destroyed border wall between Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, as he returns to Rafah, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
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Palestinians cross the border into Egypt after militants exploded the separated wall between Gaza Strip and Egypt, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
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Egyptian security personnel use a water cannon and riot police to disperse Palestinian women, supporters of Hamas, during a demonstration at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
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A Palestinian boy holding the Muslims holy book the Quran in one hand and a replica rifle in the other, during a protest against Israeli tactics in the Gaza Strip in al-Yarmouk refugee camp a major refugee camp some 6 miles south of Damascus Monday Jan. 21, 2008. Some 1,500 people headed by Hamas deputy leader Mousa Abou Marzouk and members of other Damascusbased Palestinian factions took part in the rally. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)
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Video
Gaza Border Fence Blown Up
Militants from Gaza used landmines to blast through a border fence allowing Palestinians to enter Egypt. The Egyptian president ordered guards to allow their purchase of food. Richard Roth reports.
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Palestinians Breach Gaza Wall
Palestinians have been pouring into Egypt from Gaza by the thousands, seeking food, fuel and refuge from the severe blockade imposed by Israel. Charlie D'Agata reports.
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Photo Essay
Gaza Wall Tumbles
Tens of thousands of Palestinians pour into Egypt after gunmen blast down barrier.
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Mideast Conflict
Events, key players and a history of the world's most unstable region.
It was not immediately clear whether the minister, Matan Vilnai, was expressing the view of the Israeli government, or was testing international receptiveness to such idea.
Privately, several Israeli officials have said Wednesday's breach of the Gaza-Egypt border by Palestinian militants was a positive development that would ease pressure on Israel to keep providing for Gaza's basic needs, and could pave the way for increasingly disconnecting from the territory.
Egypt in the past has resisted a link with Gaza, and it was uncertain how it would react to such an idea, though a top Egyptian official said Thursday that Egypt's border with Gaza will go back to normal, and strongly rejected Israel's plan to sever ties.
"This is a wrong assumption," Hossam 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."
On the Gaza-Egypt border, Egyptian border guards began trying to control the masses of Palestinians flooding across the border for a second day Thursday, stopping some from moving deeper into Egypt, but not attempting to reseal the border.
Before Wednesday, gunmen had blown down the border wall, and tens of thousands of Gazans, cooped up by border closures for two years, had rushed into Egypt. The breach effectively ended Israel's tight blockade of Gaza, imposed last week in response to a spike in rocket attacks on Israeli border towns.
In the past two days, Gazans have stocked up on supplies in Egypt, including cement, fuel, cigarettes and other staples. In response, Israel stopped emergency shipments of industrial diesel fuel, arguing that Gazans were now able to get supplies from Egypt. However, Palestinian officials said Gaza's power plant would shut down Sunday, for a second time in a week, if the fuel shipments don't resume.
Israel is worried that along with the fuel, cigarettes and medicine moving back into Gaza through the chaos, some Gazans may smuggle in guns and explosives, reports CBS News correspondent Richard Roth.
Vilnai suggested Thursday that Israel views the border breach as an opportunity to disconnect from Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, after a 38-year military occupation. However, the international community has not accepted Israel's contention that its occupation - and with that Israel's responsibility for Gaza's civilians - ended entirely with the pullout since Israel still controls most access to Gaza.
Vilnai said Thursday, in comments confirmed by his office, that "we need to understand that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it."
"So we want to disconnect from it," he was quoted as saying. "We want to stop supplying electricity to them, stop supplying them with water and medicine, so that it would come from another place."
Israel will continue to be responsible for the flow of such supplies into the Gaza Strip until an alternative is found, the office quoted him as saying.
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Gazans, meanwhile, hoped that the temporary border opening will become permanent. Both Egypt and Israel had restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza after Hamas won parliament elections in 2006, and further tightened the closure after Hamas seized control of the area by force.I don't need to buy anything. Freedom is more important.
Adel Tildani, Gaza resident"The Egyptians started doing good deeds by letting us in. For God's sake, why don't they keep allowing us to pass through?" said Mohammed Abu Amra, a Palestinian walking across the border on crutches. "Everyone is rushing into Egypt before they seal it off."
The border breach has boosted the popularity of Gaza's Hamas rulers, who in recent months had struggled to rule because of border closures. The sanctions have led to severe shortages of cement, cigarette and other basic goods, deepened poverty and drove up unemployment.
Hamas has used the border breach - carefully planned, with militants weakening the metal wall with blow torches about a month ago - to push its demand for reopening the border passages, this time with Hamas involvement. Such an arrangement would in effect end the international sanctions against the Islamic militants.
Hamas government spokesman Taher Nunu suggested Thursday that Hamas would seek a role in a future on the Gaza-Egypt border. "An open border like this has no logic," he said. "We are studying the mechanism of having an official crossing point."
However, it's not clear whether Egypt will acquiesce. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been under intense public pressure at home in recent days to alleviate the suffering of Gazans under blockade. However, Egypt would likely be reluctant to have an open border with a territory ruled by Islamic militants.
In other developments:
An Arab diplomat said Egypt told the U.S. it expects the Palestinians' exodus from Gaza to end by midday Thursday, but a senior U.S. official said Egypt has not been precise about when it will stop the flow.
In Tel Aviv, visiting US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said that while Hamas itself was to blame for the shortages in the Gaza Strip, it was for Egypt to restore order at the frontier.
"Obviously it is going to be up to the Egyptian government to bring under control the situation along the border," he said at the start of a meeting with Israeli Cabinet minister Shaul Mofaz.
Egyptian border guards were patrolling access roads to the border Thursday. Police in helmets and with sniffer dogs used batons to beat the hoods of private cars and pickup trucks that massed at the border to carry Palestinians further into Egyptian territory.
Cargo shipments across the border picked up Thursday, using the back-to-back system. Trucks and donkey carts pulled up to the Egyptian side, the goods were unloaded and carried across to the Gazan side were they were put in waiting trucks.
Gaza businessman Abu Omar Shurafa received a shipment of 100 tons of cement, seizing an opportunity to stock up before the border closes again. "Everyone is exerting all efforts to stock the reserves for six to seven months. We have to find a way to continue living," he said.
Still, he was also hopeful that this could be the beginning of a new arrangement. "A solution has to be like this," he said, referring to the flow of goods from Egypt.
Some Gazans just wanted to get out, even for a few hours.
"We just want freedom," said Adel Tildani, who was bringing his mother-in-law from Egypt into Gaza to meet grandchildren she had never seen before. "I don't need to buy anything. Freedom is more important."
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 708 CommentsIt isn''t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
Thank you John Lennon for such beautiful lyrics, and thank you Hamas for providing the freedom Palestinians have long wanted.
Federal prosecutors have named three prominent Islamic organizations in America as participants in an alleged criminal conspiracy to support a Palestinian Arab terrorist group, Hamas.
From the New York Sun:
http://www.nysun.com/article/557
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Posted by singinrick at 07:41 AM : Jan 24, 2008
+ report abuse
Hey Rick! What do you think of the 935 LIES told by the Bush Administration that took us to war in Iraq? I''d just like to know what someone who CLAIMS to have so many MORAL''s feels about a President and his Administration that would stoop to a level of LYING to start a war?
even hiding behind his false god whole doing it -
won''t change the dynamics of freedom....
Freedom is the religion of all true christians, as they know, with freedom comes peace.
Those blocking the freedom of the palestinian people are evildoers are their efforts are wasted, the ultimate proof of their godlessness.
It isn''''t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
Thank you John Lennon for such beautiful lyrics, and thank you Hamas for providing the freedom Palestinians have long wanted.
Posted by closethippy1 at 07:26 AM : Jan 24, 2008
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This is pie in the sky from an acid head tripping . You really are a closet hippy aren''t you?
Posted by neoconRcrazy at 08:01 AM : Jan 24, 2008
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The freedom that Jesus brings has nothing to do with dirt, land or fences and walls.....it is to be set free from sin in the heart. A man can be in prison phisically but FREE in his heart through the BLOOD OF JESUS.
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Sensible, practical and logical.
But with the exception of the fact that Hamas and the Palestinian leadership believe that the equivalent to peace is the destruction of Israel and nothing lesss. Doesn''t leave a lot of room for negotiation.
Over the years, Israel established a number of settlement points in and around the Old City of Hebron which had traditionally served as the commercial center for the entire southern West Bank . Israeli law-enforcement authorities and security forces have made the entire Palestinian population suffer in the process of protecting Israeli settlement in the city. The authorities impose a regime intentionally and openly based on the "separation principle", the result of which is legal and physical segregation between the Israeli settlers and the Palestinian majority.
This policy led to the economic collapse of the center of Hebron and drove many Palestinians out of the area.
visit an authority : www.btselem.org, israel''s internationally recognized human rights org
Posted by noseonurface
yes, i imagine that''s possible - but he''d have to be a man like you...fortunately for most of us, physical freedom is the key to happiness (and non-terroristic behavior).
While I abhor the violence against innocent civilians on both sides, Israel needs to learn that keeping Palestinian civilians hostage behind barriers will never lead to peace.
This "Warsaw Ghetto" mentality must stop - and I expect better of the Israelis.
This virtually indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinians since the 1940''s (and even before), needs to be stopped.
Likewise, the armed Palestinian factions need to put a halt to their strikes against Israeli civilians.
I hope that one day the Israelis allow the Palestinians a state of their own, as well as the right of return to their shared homeland.
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Even Egypt recognizes the cancerous Hamas terrorists for what they are.
Posted by wolf563
now, 60% of americans appreciate sarcastic humour - good joke!
Yes, using the Palestinians as pawns in the global power game is much more useful to the masters of Muslim terror. We hear all the hand-wringing, blubbering, and downright vicious anti-jewish racism on account of the "oppression", but now we see how the Muslim governments handle problem populations--by letting them twist slowly in the wind.
Allah the compassionate, the merciful, may have a bone to pick with the well-paid rulers of Egypt.
Posted by wolf563 at 08:08 AM : Jan 24, 2008
- wolf563, right! Let Palestinians settle this thing together before presenting a common position of negotiation to the Israelis. With the border opening, Hamas factiously presented an offer to merge with Egypt. This offer is really considered a nice move by Hamas toward it Southern neighbor. This must flame the jealousy of Abbas who is sitting on his Crown Chair and waiting... (I hate his passive attitude by the way!)
-Israel has not expected such a move by Haniyeh, and Israel is to blame for resorting to this inhumane embargo.
But I''m not amazed by this Olmert incompetency! He is a dumb politician. I knew from the beginning. And honestly look at his moves. They''re all failed. He always gets check-mated.
-There is a saying : better have intelligent enemies rather than having dumb friends. I pity the Pals here, they have the worst in both cases. LOL!
-There is an opportunity for Egypt to bring Hamas to the nego table, to forge a united Palestinian position. So both sides will sit at the table. Israel got to be VERY generous.
wwww.btselem.org (Hebron)
well, i guess old President Carter was right, that''s what we call APARTHEID.
And the above judgement comes from the jews themselves (the majority non-zionist variety)
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Posted by underdogus at 08:20 AM : Jan 24, 2008
+ report abuse
Why? Because he doesn''t agree with the government of Isreal he''s supporting working for the Arab Press? Not much of a nazi are you??? ROFLMAO Sieg Heil Bush!!
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Posted by FloydZepp at 08:24 AM : Jan 24, 2008
+ report abuse
LOL Good one Floyd!! LOL
"If the palestinians really want peace . They will stop firing rockets at Israel and talk . If Israel did not have restraint in dealing with all the rocket attacks the GAZA strip would not be here today ."
The problem with your argument is that both sides commit acts against each other that draw retaliation.
It is an eye for an eye whether we like it or not.
Part of the problem is that the United States supports one over the other (economically and militarily).
We should withdraw our support wholly, because until we do, the destruction will continue and innocents on both sides will continue to suffer.
While we continue to allow the demolition of Palestinian homes to make way for illegal Israeli settlements, fighting will continue.
We must put an end to this now - and that means with holding economic and military aid from Israel, and with holding economic aid from the Palestinians (after all, when was the last time we gave Palestinians tanks, or guns?).
Over the years, settlers in the city have routinely abused the city''s Palestinian residents, sometimes using extreme violence. Throughout the second intifada, settlers have committed physical assaults, including beatings, at times with clubs, stone throwing, and hurling of refuse, sand, water, chlorine, and empty bottles. Settlers have destroyed shops and doors, committed thefts, and chopped down fruit trees. Settlers have also been involved in gunfire, attempts to run people over, poisoning of a water well, breaking into homes, spilling of hot liquid on the face of a Palestinian, and the killing of a young Palestinian girl.
Soldiers are generally positioned on every street corner in and near the settlement points, but in most cases they do nothing to protect Palestinians from the settlers'' attacks. The police also fail to properly enforce the law and rarely bring the assailants to justice. By failing to respond appropriately to settler violence in Hebron, the authorities in effect sanction the settlers'' violent acts. These acts, in addition to being severe, have also contributed to the "quiet transfer" of thousands of Palestinians from the City Center .
"George W. Bush, a man who knew evil when he saw it and who had the courage and the determination to do battle against it."
George W. Bush once said that the war on terror was un-winnable.
Stupidity could be defined as repeating the same mistake over and over again and expecting a better result.
That makes him stupid.
But that makes his supporters even more stupid.
explain well how the zionist jews "quietly transfer"
palestinians from their homes. By violence - all
condoned by the zionist army that sits and watches
without lifting a finger.
Why?
Because they have orders to make life for the palestinians intolerable.....
(www.btselem.org)
Israel ''s policy severely impacts thousands of Palestinians by violating the right to life, liberty, personal safety, freedom of movement, health, and property, among other rights. This policy breaches Israel ''s obligations under international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and Israeli administrative and constitutional law. Given the drastic effects of the policy on the fabric of Palestinian life in the area and the resultant "quiet transfer" of thousands of Palestinians, the policy constitutes a breach of the prohibition on forced transfer enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Convention and is therefore a war crime, for which the persons responsible bear personal liability.
Thousands Of People Still Crossing At Will; Israel Says It Will Sever Ties With Gaza Strip"
Of course Israel is mad - this blockade against life sustaining commodities is designed to punish EVERYONE in Gaza. If the Palestinians are able to go out and get food and water, that makes the blockade ineffective.
We should withdraw our support wholly, because until we do, the destruction will continue and innocents on both sides will continue to suffer.
Posted by mcdazz at 08:29 AM : Jan 24, 2008
And that is exactly the reason we were attacked on 9/11 - because we support one side over the other. The weaker side, the side we don''t support, is the one that attacked us.
they still have neither,
while the West cries for freedom and democracy, they
completely ignore their own words..
and choose rhetoric over human suffering...
Would you do the same? Or would you just accept it and move on?
Because when the Israelis kick down the front door of a Palestinian house, we expect them to accept it without so much as a word.
What would *you* do if you were a Palestinian?
"-According to secular leftists, Hamas is heroic, so is Hezbollah, the PLO, The Islamic Republic of Iran, etc, etc, etc..."
Then I guess the conservative right believe that the nazis were heroic.
Posted by noseonurface at 08:32 AM : Jan 24, 2008
This post directly conflicts with your other post from 8:32.
The "settlers" are Israeli Jews. They are moving into the homes / neighborhoods that are vacated by the Palestinians that leave after enduring the apartheid waged by the "settlers". Apartheid that is sanctioned by the Israeli military which, as your other post shows, that the soldiers and police just stand by and allow the violence against the Palestinians to continue.
That''''s what I think skyk.
;)
Posted by singinrick at 08:43 AM : Jan 24, 2008
Obviously, you''re unaware of how the impeachment process works in accordance with partisan politics.
spoken like a true NAZI.
How''s Adolf? Care to join him?? - He''s waiting, brain dead fascist pissant.
"-That''''s funny mcdazz, because the last time I checked the Nazi''''s hated the Jews just as much as the Islamic terrorists do. In fact they murdered 6 million of them and Adolph Hitler was praised by the Grand Mufti at the time (radical Islam leader) for doing so."
And many of those who persecuted the Jews were actually Right Wing Conservatives singinrick.
Before you respond, why don''t you study the right wing political agenda of the Nazis.
They may have hated the Jews, but there were quite a few Christians amongst the nazis.
And most of them didn''t lift a finger to help the Jews.
Posted by lochlan... what the fluck??? "stole" the land?? you''re such an idiot!! NEXT!!!
spoken like a true NAZI.
How''''s Adolf? Care to join him?? - He''''s waiting, brain dead fascist pissant.
Posted by Pelosistilho at 08:52 AM : Jan 24, 2008
You STILL don''t have a legitimate argument or have anything logical to add to the discussion, and you break in immediately throwing around the Hitler label.
Isn''t it amazing that Bush wants to usurp all of the power from Congress in EXACTLY the same way that Hitler usurped ALL of the power from Germany''s parliament?
Posted by noseonurface
-Outstanding, how are you?
Posted by singinrick at 08:41 AM : Jan 24, 2008
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Good too! thought I would get on here and see if I could dodge some bullets for a while.
Why? Because these fleas are oh-sooooo-afraid of the big bad Zionist. Guess what was left of their brains got fried after overloading on "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion". Oh, maybe too, it is because both the United States, and Israel, until Oslo and Olmert, were dead serious about eradicating terror. The terror that killed 3000 of us on 9/11.
But, hey, these bozos will always blame Dem Jooz for that. If they love the Palestinians so much, the Hungrys, the McDooDoos, and Lochlan - and Sieg Heil Walt should go and live with them. They won''t be missed, and I''m sure they''ll love it.
A lot. Especially with a scimitar against their scrawny throats...
LOL
NEXT.
Posted by singinrick at 08:49 AM : Jan 24, 2008
That''s because Hitler, the Grand Muffi, the Lutheran church, and Pope Pius XII were all in cahoots to exact the "final solution" and exterminate the jews.
I''m glad I don''t belong to any of these terrorist organizations / religions.
No thanks to centuries of anti-semitic teachings from the churches of Europe.
Either have the courage of your warped convictions or be labelled as the brain dead left fascist bozo that you are - as well as being a Nazi - and a coward.
Next.
Posted by singinrick at 08:45 AM : Jan 24, 2008
Everything. The US has been lying about its intentions in the Middle East for the longest time.
In 1953 the US deposed a democratically elected secualr president of Iran and replaced him with a King. And when the King got his behind kicked out 26 years later the US began to complain about the lack of democracy in Iran.
Lebanon and Palestine have been invaded, destroyed, and occupied by Israel wholly with US weapons and money based on lies about those countries.
The US says it is concerned about democracy in the Middle East and then ignores anyone elected who is critical of Israel.
The US went into Iraq convinced Saddam had the capability to use WMD in matters of minutes and not a shred of WMDs were found.
Lies, all lies. And look at the demented supporters of this policy and how they in turn lie, too.
These b.astards want to tell the Arabs who they are, who they aren''t, what belongs to them, what doesn''t belong to them. And for that they''ll make up lies after lies.
The Middle East has the highest birthrate in the world and the young people over there are more than ready to replace their leadership and start doing things right so the US and Israel will never again have a chance to do any more harm to anyone else, and to set the record straight from all the lies by the US and Israel.
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