Madison-Rafah Journal

Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters, 23 Jan 2008

Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after militants blew up a border wall, and stocked up on food and fuel in short supply because of an Israeli blockade.

"Those people are hungry for freedom, for food and for everything," said an Egyptian shopkeeper who gave her name only as Hamida, surveying shelves emptied swiftly by Gazans paying with Egyptian pounds and Israeli shekels.

The fall of the Rafah wall punched a new hole in efforts by Israel, under frequent rocket attack from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, to keep pressure on the territory in the face of an international outcry over shortages and Palestinian hardship.

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Dear Members and Friends of MRSCP,

If you haven't watched the news today, last night unknown parties blew at least seven holes in the massive Israeli wall between Rafah and the Egyptian border and today the UN estimates that up to 350,000 Gazans have been streaming back and forth across the border to Egypt to buy food, medicine, fuel, cement, cigarettes, and every imaginable thing that has been blockaded by Israel. (Of course, this does not restore electricity or water service or power to hospitals as Israel retains tight restrictions on diesel fuel entering the strip.)

For video footage, click here.

For pictures, click here: Gaza border break

This amazing event is taking place in the context of a week of protests against the seige of Gaza all over the world…just yesterday there were angry and desperate protests by 3000 women in Rafah at the border, some succeeded in crossing into Egypt but were detained and sent back after clashing with Egyptian police that injured many. It is reported also that a shipment of emergency aid from Egypt had just been denied entry into Gaza through the Israeli-controlled Keren Shalom crossing. So for some reason, Egypt has decided not to intervene for the time being. There are also protests in Egypt in support of the seige break. It is unclear how long the border will remain open.

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Hello there!

Like you and all the people in Gaza, I am really delighted with the breaking of the border fences. That was the only and best way possible to break the Israeli cordon. Well, I did not go shopping and I will buy my needs from the merchants who bring in large quantities of everything needed. There are some logistic problems on the road that oblige people sometimes to jump over walls or walk in the fields. Immediately after the checkpoint, one has to walk for a long distance before he gets to a park where commuter cars are permitted on the Egyptian side. This part is unseen by the media. The end purpose is breaking the wall and getting life needs. Let me tell you that after President Mubarak's short statement to Al Jazeera the situation between Rafah and el-Arish improved and cars were allowed to travel freely on the official roads. Anyway, and by all means, what happened was a real relief for millions of people in Gaza and Sinai. All the Palestinians stranded on the border, Rafah and el-Arish arrived home in Gaza after months of the inhumane conditions they passed through.

The Egyptian markets are cheaper than ours and the Egyptian pound is cheaper than the Israeli shekel. Large quantities of medicine, foodstuffs, olive oil, new and used cars, spare parts, cement, iron bars. In short, they brought everything that you may imagine to be available on the Egyptian market. This popular movement also refreshed the el-Arish market, as that market was originally limited, weak and isolated, and it usually sells only to Sinai bedouins and the population of el-Arish city itself. Merchants and small business people expressed their joy because of the arrival of the Palestinians and wished it to last as long as possible. These are heydays for el-Arish business as well as for the Palestinian business people.

Like you I watched Aljazeera English in all its reports from Rafah. I was busy writing a report on the situation of Gaza agriculture and farmers' living conditions after the latest incursions. The report was written in English for a local NGO in Gaza.

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