Paleo Genius expounding on the 'String Theory'
| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Gunnies blow Rafah wall, thousands of Paleos flood into Egypt |
| 2008-01-23 |
| Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured from the Gaza Strip into Egypt Wednesday after masked gunmen with explosives destroyed most of the seven-mile wall dividing the town of Rafah, which straddles the border. The Gazans crossed on foot, in cars or riding donkey carts to buy supplies made scarce by an Israeli blockade of their impoverished territory. Police from the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, directed the traffic. Egyptian border guards took no action. The gunmen began breaching the wall dividing Rafah before dawn, according to witnesses and Hamas officials, who told The Associated Press that they later closed all but two of the gaps in the wall. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said they were allowing Palestinians to move freely through the two gaps. Thousands of Gazans began crossing into Egypt and returning with milk, cigarettes and plastic bottles of fuel, the Hamas officials and witnesses said. An Associated Press reporter arrived after first light and saw that about two-thirds of the Rafah wall had been demolished. The reporter also saw the crowd of Palestinians crossing into Egypt swell into the tens of thousands. Guards directed the crowds over the fallen metal through two main crossing areas, inspecting some bags. One man returning to Gaza carried seven pistols that were confiscated by Hamas police. Others walked unhindered over the piles of scrap metal that once made up the border wall. The identity of the gunmen who breached the border was not immediately clear. But in a statement, Hamas expressed support for the move, saying, "Blowing up the border wall with Egypt is a reflection of the ... catastrophic situation which the Palestinian people in Gaza are living through due to the blockade." Before dawn Wednesday, Palestinian gunmen began blowing holes in the border wall running through Rafah, along the Gaza-Egypt border. There were 17 explosions in all, Hamas security officials said. All Egyptian security and police officers were pulled out from the immediate vicinity of the border, Egyptian security officials said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. They did not explain why the officers had been withdrawn. An off-duty Hamas security officer who identified himself as Abdel Rahman, 29, said this was his first time out of Gaza. "I can smell the freedom," he said. "We need no border after today." Abdel Rahman said no weapons were being smuggled in from Egypt. "You can buy weapons in Gaza, guns and RPGs," he said. Weapons are generally brought into Gaza through smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #37 Moose - you've answered my question, so here's another: Is there currently, or should there be created, an organization along the lines of a "Coptic Liberation Front"? As Ike said, if you cannot solve the problem, enlarge it. |
| Posted by: Blinky Clang5141 2008-01-23 22:12 |
| #36 Debka's take on this is that the Gazans, under Iranian direction, have seized the norther Sinai from Egypt and are occupying it. There were already 40k Paleos there, and with the inrush of Gazans, who are being ordered to remain there, they have a de facto control of the place. In other words, the Palestinians have invaded Egypt in a territorial conquest. Even more important is that Mubarak is terrified that the Muslim Brotherhood is about to launch a coup attempt. So all the Interior Ministry troops are bogged down in the cities and can't drive the Paleos out. But this can turn extremely ugly in short order. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-01-23 20:43 |
| #35 Sort of like a dog with fleas putting a stick in its mouth and slowly going into the water so that the fleas move up to the stick to stay dry. Then the dog releases the stick into the water. Fitting analogy! |
| Posted by: Clinetle Prince of the Hemps6270 2008-01-23 20:41 |
| #34 What did Hamas have delivered to just inside Egyptian territory that they needed a large breach in the wall to transport into Gazan territory? I bet the Massod knows, and that the IDF will shortly point it out to the rest of us. |
| Posted by: Blinky Clang5141 2008-01-23 19:39 |
| #33 Watch the Euros bid over these lower forms of humanity. Human termite-feeding has been going on since Israel was founded. |
| Posted by: Injun Shusoling9192 2008-01-23 18:26 |
| #32 One man returning to Gaza carried seven pistols that were confiscated by Hamas police. Yep, free guns for Hamass. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-01-23 17:57 |
| #31 this IS an opportunity for Israel to disengage totally from Gaza and to smack the living shit out of it every time a rocket flies. Cut off the power, water, and fuel, including the capacity to deliver. They are Egypt's problem now. Use the money savings for 155 shells, counterbattery radar, and UAVs (with hellfires) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-23 16:48 |
| #30 RD: pics (small) in the comments are okay as long as we don't over-do. These are topical and right on point. RJ: the Gazook shore is NOT open; the Israelis closed it and keep it patrolled. Little moves in/out that way. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-01-23 16:15 |
| #29 I love the overheated rhetoric that Israel is doing this and that to Gaza. The shoreline is open and trade can happen along the Egypt border but those do not make for interesting stories. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-01-23 15:57 |
| #28 from the London Times, ----------------------- ... guard, Lieutenant Abu Usama of the Palestinian National Security, said of the cutting operation: "I've seen this happening over the last few months. It happened in the daytime but was covered up so that nobody would see." Asked whether he had reported it to the government, he replied: "It was the government that was doing this. Who would I report it to?" ----------------- |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-01-23 15:37 |
| #27 Mubarak told reporters at the Cairo International Book fair that when Palestinians began breaking through border in force, he told his men to let them in to buy food before escorting them out. "I told them to let them come in and eat and buy food and then return them later as long as they were not carrying weapons," he said. How do a handful of border guards escort 300,000 people back to Gaza? How do they check for weapons? |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2008-01-23 15:36 |
| #26 Sort of like a dog with fleas putting a stick in its mouth and slowly going into the water so that the fleas move up to the stick to stay dry. Then the dog releases the stick into the water. You must own a Border Collie. |
| Posted by: Thomas Woof 2008-01-23 15:11 |
| #25 "We want to buy food. We want to buy rice and sugar, milk and wheat and some cheese," Abu Taha said, adding that he would also get some cheap Egyptian cigarettes. He said he could get the food in Gaza, but at three times the price. Says it all, |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-01-23 14:19 |
| #24 And, of course, the obligatory... But rivals Fatah and Hamas blamed Israel, calling the breakout an inevitable consequence of the blockade."Israel is responsible for what has happened -- this is the consequence of the blockade imposed on Gaza," Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-23 14:17 |
| #23 Only problem I see here is they are going BACK to Gaza. This is not going to solve any problems, they're just rearming. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-01-23 14:15 |
| #22 More than 300,000 Paleos now in Egypt. No reported looting of Egyptian property but it is probably happening. Let's see what the egyptian ruling class says about this tomorrow. |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-01-23 14:08 |
| #21 BTW mods a question; The pics posted here were topical and refered to by others so I posted them.. But they aren't from the RBee Archive, Is this a proper usage of outside pics? |
| Posted by: RD 2008-01-23 13:52 |
| #20 Paleo Genius expounding on the 'String Theory' |
| Posted by: RD 2008-01-23 13:37 |
| #19 Too bad the Israeli's didn't convince the Gaza folk to move into Sinai before they gave away the penninsula. Sort of like a dog with fleas putting a stick in its mouth and slowly going into the water so that the fleas move up to the stick to stay dry. Then the dog releases the stick into the water. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-01-23 13:33 |
| #18 And with regard to the pics Seafarious noted: #2 shows a Paleo front-end loader knocking down the wall. Never mind the obvious Saint Pancake reference, the Paleos have front-end loaders? Working? With fuel? Methinks someone hasn't been forthcoming with the news of that area, and methinks the initials are MSM. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-01-23 13:33 |
| #17 Just the solution we were hoping for: now the Israelis can seal their side of the Gaza border and turn off the gas/water/power. Let the Egyptians provide the basic services, and let the Israelis build an even-higher wall. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-01-23 13:30 |
| #16 What are they using to pay for this stuff? Glenmore: Swedish kronor? |
| Posted by: Ron Paul 2008-01-23 12:20 |
| #15 The border breach was a dramatic protest against the closure of the impoverished Palestinian territory imposed last week by Israel. Or, is it a protest that Egypt has had its border closed for so long... |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-01-23 11:27 |
| #14 Install one-way turnstiles on the wall. Problem solved. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-01-23 11:21 |
| #13 Palestinians have broken through the Egypt border several times since Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 and stopped patrolling the border. But none of the previous breaches approached the scale of Wednesday's destruction, which demolished two-thirds of the seven-mile border barrier. The destruction of the barrier began before dawn Wednesday, when Palestinian gunmen began using land mines, blowing holes in the border barrier that runs through Rafah, witnesses said. There were 17 explosions in all, Hamas security officials said. At first, Hamas and Egyptian security officers prevented people from getting through, witnesses said, but by morning thousands of Gazans had massed at the border and overwhelmed police began letting people cross. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-23 09:59 |
| #12 Better Egypt than Israel. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-01-23 09:54 |
| #11 So that's what they mean by a plague of locusts. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-01-23 09:41 |
| #10 Mubarak cant have Egyptian troops shooting at Pal civilians coming through, however well fed they may be. The TV images would create riots in Cairo. |
| Posted by: Dopey Flotle8127 2008-01-23 09:38 |
| #9 #4 Gaza was occupied by Egypt, they never annexed it, in contrast to the West Bank, which WAS annexed by Jordan. |
| Posted by: Dopey Flotle8127 2008-01-23 09:37 |
| #8 I think Paleo "starvation" is on the same level as "dinner is a half-hour late, and I'm STARVING!" |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2008-01-23 09:28 |
| #7 A little Egyptian collusion maybe? Police from the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, directed the traffic. Egyptian border guards took no action. Hamas did not take responsibility for knocking down the border barrier erected by Israel as fighting intensified with militants after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. But it seemed unlikely the move could have been undertaken without Hamas' approval. The group's supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal, said from Damascus, Syria that Hamas was willing to work out a new border arrangement with Egypt and Hamas' rival, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that he had ordered his troops to allow the Palestinians to cross into Egypt from the Gaza Strip because they were starving. Mubarak told reporters at the Cairo International Book fair that when Palestinians began breaking through border in force, he told his men to let them in to buy food before escorting them out. "I told them to let them come in and eat and buy food and then return them later as long as they were not carrying weapons," he said. Plan on putting the wall back up, Hosni? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-23 09:19 |
| #6 Just doin the only thing they're good at. Enjoy them, Gypos.... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-23 08:34 |
| #5 Blowing up the border wall with Egypt is a reflection of the ... catastrophic situation which the Palestinian people in Gaza are living Yup. When Egypt looks good to you, things must really be bad. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-01-23 08:15 |
| #4 Gaza was part of Egypt before the 1967 war. "returning with What are they using to pay for this stuff? Zimbabwe actually has some economic activity and Zimbucks aren't worth anything, so what backs Gaza money? I'd say Euro donations, but doesn't all that go into Swiss bank accounts |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-01-23 07:07 |
| #3 Accepting separation from Israel, and becoming de facto part of Egypt, finally. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-01-23 06:38 |
| #2 They certainly put on a good show. All the people in the photos look well dressed and well fed so they can't be doing all that badly. |
| Posted by: Gladys 2008-01-23 04:49 |
| #1 Pix at the link are worth a visit. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2008-01-23 04:13 |