Israel orders Gaza-Egypt border closed to stop Palestinian PM
Posted 12/14/2006 10:41 AM ET
CAIRO (AP) - Israel closed the Egypt-Gaza border on Thursday to prevent Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh from returning to the Gaza Strip with millions of dollars for his cash-strapped Hamas government.
The blocking sparked a gunbattle at the border terminal on the Gaza side when Hamas militants burst into the Rafah border crossing. Travelers at the terminal dove for cover, and two Hamas militants were wounded in the gunfight.
But later Haniyeh headed to the border in an attempt to cross a second time but without the money, said Palestinian official Hani Jabour, who was with Haniyeh.
It was not clear, however, if Israel would allow him in or if he even would be able to cross because of the fighting. As he headed there two loud explosions were heard on the Gaza side.
Jabour said that Israel has agreed to let Haniyeh in without the money. The secretary-general of the Palestinian Cabinet, Mohammed Awad, also told Al-Jazeera that Israel agreed to Haniyeh's entry without the money.
There was no immediate confirmation from Israel, but European monitors said the Rafah crossing would not be reopened Thursday.
Israeli authorities ordered the crossing closed earlier Thursday after Haniyeh notified Egyptian authorities he was carrying $35 million, Jabour said.
Israeli security officials confirmed that Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the closure to prevent Haniyeh from bringing in the money. It was not known where the money came from, but Haniyeh was on his first trip abroad and visited top supporters Syria, Iran and Sudan.
Haniyeh's government has been badly crippled by U.S. and Israeli-led international economic sanctions that have left it unable to pay full salaries to its 165,000 workers. Top Hamas officials have recently smuggled millions of dollars over the border to help keep the government operating.
Haniyeh decided to cut the trip abroad short after Wednesday's assassination of a Hamas-linked judge that came two days after gunmen shot dead the three young children of a Fatah-allied Palestinian intelligence officer.
The escalation in violence has reduced the chances of forging a coalition government of Hamas and the more moderate Fatah party, which is led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Egyptian officials said the prime minister declared he was carrying the money after arriving in Egypt from Sudan on his way back to Gaza. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Maria Telleria, spokeswoman for the EU monitoring mission, said after the gunbattle that all 16 monitors were safely evacuated and the border would remain closed Thursday.
"Now it is dark, the monitors will not be coming back," she said. "But I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow."
Haniyeh left Gaza on Nov. 28 and had planned to travel for a month. But his trip drew criticism because the violence raging in the Palestinian territories and the need to continue to negotiate on a new government between his Hamas party and the rival Fatah.
