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Gaza border crisis sparks talks

Palestinians gather at the border in Rafah between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Sunday. PHOTO: EPA

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas devoted a summit meeting to the crisis on the Gaza-Egypt border, where neither has direct control, overshadowing recently restarted peace talks between the two sides.

During the Sunday summit in Jerusalem, Abbas suggested taking over the Palestinian side of the crossings into the beleaguered territory, and Olmert pledged that he would not allow a humanitarian crisis to develop in Gaza, a moot point for now with the Gaza-Egypt border still open, and residents hauling food, fuel and other products back home themselves.

Hamas militants knocked down the wall between Gaza and Egypt last week, breaking an Israeli blockade. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flooded into Egypt to resupply themselves and get a taste of freedom.

Despite Egyptian efforts to restore control, the border was still open on Sunday. Braving a chilly drizzle, Palestinians carried their purchases through the muddy streets of Egyptian Rafah, heading home to Gaza across the 500m wide border road. Egyptian forces tried to urge Gazans in Egypt to go home.

A Hamas delegation is scheduled to discuss the crisis with Egyptian officials in Cairo tomorrow, the Hamas premier of Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Sunday.

Hamas has gained support among the people of Gaza by forcibly opening the border with Egypt, and now the Islamic militants demand a role in running the crossing.

Abbas and Olmert have been meeting frequently before and after the November Middle East conference called by US President George W. Bush, where they announced renewal of peace negotiations. But the Gaza-Egypt border pushed peace issues into the background at their latest meeting.

Abbas proposed taking responsibility for the Palestinian side of all the crossings -- those from Israel, where most of Gaza's vital supplies cross, and Rafah, Gaza's only gateway to the outside world that does not pass through Israel.

At the summit, "the president expressed willingness to accept responsibility for the terminals," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

Abbas has had no practical foothold in Gaza since June, when Hamas militants overran the territory, expelling forces loyal to Abbas. Policing the crossings would give Abbas a presence, but without forces to back them up, it would be only symbolic.

For that reason, Israel is cool to Abbas' proposal, while Hamas has not rejected it. Hamas officials say that whatever the arrangement is, Hamas must have a role in running the crossings, and Israel must be shut out of the Rafah terminal. Hamas rejects the existence of Israel, and both sides refuse to deal with each other.

Late Sunday Israeli aircraft hit armed vehicles of Hamas forces in southern Gaza, the military said. Palestinians did not report casualties.

After Israel withdrew from Gaza in September 2005, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice negotiated an agreement over the Rafah crossing, which had been under Israeli control. Under a complicated formula, Palestinians with European supervisors operate the Gaza side, while Israel watches by remote control, but the border has been open only sporadically since then because of frequent violence.

It has been mostly closed since Hamas took over Gaza last summer, helping to build pressure that led to last week's breakout.

Haniyeh said Sunday the Rice accord must be replaced with a procedure that excludes Israel.

"We don't accept a continued Israeli veto on the exit and entry through Rafah," he said. "These agreements must be seriously reconsidered."

Israel is concerned that militants, arms and ammunition can enter Gaza from Egypt if Israeli officials do not supervise the crossing. Egypt is worried that if the border remains wide open, radicals could infiltrate from Gaza and destabilize the Egyptian government.
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