Thousands of jubilant Gazans have broken through the border, formally [I think they mean "formerly"] patrolled by Israel and now under Egyptian control, to take advantage of an opportunity unknown for decades. Many went to see long-missed relatives or shop. The chaos at the border added to a growing sense of lawlessness in the Gaza Strip, seen as a testing ground for the statehood that Palestinians also want in the occupied West Bank.Witnesses said Palestinian forces fired bursts of gunfire in the air in at least two places on the border to disperse dozens of youths trying to cross to the Egyptian side. Four policemen were lightly injured by stones. âPalestinian and Egyptian security forces are allowing only people returning to their homes on both sides,â Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa said. Cranes lifted cement blocks to seal holes in the giant 10- to 15-foot border fence that had been knocked out by smugglers and armed factions. âWe deployed today 1,500 police and national security forces. It started at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and it is completed now,â Abu Khoussa told AFP.
Police checked identification cards and gave chase to anyone who tried to vault into Egypt. Egyptian Army trucks rode up and down the border to enforce the clampdown. The flow of smuggled goods brought in by the ton this week fell to a trickle as people hauled back only small quantities of items like cigarettes and gasoline. The security source said a total of 2,000 police should be deployed to the border by today. But the 750 Egyptian officers who deployed there did not stop thousands of Palestinians and Egyptians from crossing through holes militants blasted in the barrier. Palestinian forces worked yesterday to plug the breaches with concrete blocks. Egyptian forces shored up the other side and blocked the path of Palestinians trying to get in. Palestinians still managed to get across the Egyptian border and due to their numbers, Egyptian and Palestinian forces subsequently made little effort to stop them.