Saturday, February 23, 2008

Egypt Again Warns Hamas About Future Border Violations


I wonder if Hamas is getting the message? Egypt called Hamas officials to Egypt again for meetings and stressed once more that Hamas best not even think about tinkering with the border security between Gaza and Egypt.
Psssst....Hamas? I think they are serious.

It's my view that when Mubarek of Egypt initially allowed the palis to flow into Egypt he thought he would score some points in the Arab world as some sort of humanitarian star of the month. What Mubarek found out is what Israel has known all along: that the palis are a throng of locusts and vermin and that Hamas was quick to seize upon the situation and literally infiltrated Egypt with bombers and weapons. So now, Egypt has been embarassed by their being "taken" and I'm guessing that if any palis try to cross over again or if Hamas breaks out their torches again, Egypt is gonna start firing (real bullets this time).

There is a reason, you know, why Jordan and Egypt and Lebanon have not taken the palis in over the years. A good reason.

Here's the full story from Haaretz.


Egypt security officials warn Hamas against future border violations

For the third time in 10 days, a senior Hamas delegation crossed into Egypt Saturday to discuss the tenuous situation on the Gaza border, while top Egyptian security officials warned against any threats to the frontier. The six-person Hamas delegation, led by senior Gaza Hamas officials Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siyam, crossed into Egypt from Rafah terminal to meet Egyptian security officials in nearby el-Arish, a security official familiar with the discussions said. Egyptian officials repeated warnings to Hamas to stay away from the border and not even think of reopening it by force as they did on Jan. 23, when explosives blew several holes in the frontier and sent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into Egypt to shop for supplies.

While President Hosni Mubarak originally allowed Palestinians to cross the border when it was blown open, the wounding of Egyptian soldiers by militants and the detention of some 20 Hamas members in Egypt carrying explosive belts and weapons strained relations. After the border was reclosed, Egypt's foreign minister threatened to break the legs of any Palestinians crossing illegally. Hamas responded by saying that they would breach the border again if the blockade continues

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