US Worried About Gaza Border Breach

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer

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WASHINGTON —

Egypt has assured the United States it soon will reseal its border with the Gaza Strip, blocking Palestinians from further desperation shopping trips for goods they no longer can get or afford inside the closed-off territory, Arab and U.S. officials said.

An Arab diplomat said Egypt told the U.S. it expects the exodus to end by midday Thursday and pledged to rebuild a border barrier smashed by Hamas militants. A senior U.S. official said Egypt has not been precise about when it will stop letting Palestinians pass the border unmolested, but that the situation will not continue for long.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe conversations between the two governments.

Some 50,000 people had crossed through breaches in the border barrier by sundown Wednesday, the Arab official said.

Washington expressed concern about tens of thousands of Palestinians pouring into Egypt from the impoverished seaside territory controlled by Hamas militants, but refrained from criticism of Egypt's response, or Israel's role in sealing its much larger borders with Gaza.

"We are concerned and the Egyptians are concerned about the situation along the border," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. "We all believe that it's important that there be security along the border and that the Egyptians are able to adequately control and police their border. That's something that's in their interest as well as in the interests of all parties involved."

Jubilant men and women crossed unhindered over the toppled corrugated metal along sections of the barrier in the border town of Rafah, carrying goats, chickens and crates of Coca-Cola. Some brought back televisions, tires and cigarettes and one man even bought a motorcycle. Vendors sold soft drinks and baked goods to the crowds.

The border breach culminated a week of tension in Gaza, as Israel tightened and then loosened its seal on the tiny territory where Palestinian militants launch rocket and mortar attacks into Israel. Deteriorating conditions in Gaza have complicated the new U.S.-backed peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians, although U.S. officials said Wednesday they see no sign that the latest development has worsened the outlook for talks.

The border crossings put Israel and the United States in an awkward spot. Egypt is one of only two Arab states to make peace with Israel, and holds a historic role as Arab host and broker for peace talks.

Egypt does not want the Palestinians to stay, or even to scatter beyond the border areas, where they already have emptied many stores of goods such as cooking fuel and cigarettes. At the same time, the Cairo government of President Hosni Mubarak has no good options if Palestinians rush the border again, the officials said.

Egypt is worried that Hamas will stage another breach in the future, the Arab official said.

"Egypt is embarrassed and angry" at the ease with which Hamas breached the border and at being backed into a corner by the militants, the senior U.S. official said. "They will make an effort first to contain the crowd on their side of the border so they don't go anywhere, and then coax people back. We'll see tomorrow how that has worked."

Israel long has accused Egypt of looking the other way at aggressive smuggling across Egypt's small border with Gaza. The United States has said Egypt could do more to police the border.

Israel has come under international criticism for sealing off Gaza as a pressure tactic against Hamas militants who took over the strip in June, but was reluctant to criticize Egypt for allowing Palestinians free passage Wednesday.

The United States does not want to publicly criticize either Israel or Egypt. It aimed instead at Hamas, a militant political and military organization pledged to Israel's destruction. Israel and the U.S., which consider Hamas a terrorist organization, are backing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the rival Fatah Party in a bitter fight between the Palestinian factions.

"The Palestinians living in Gaza are living under chaos because of Hamas, and the blame has to be placed fully at their feet," White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday.