Hamas polices Gaza border with Egypt

[bemildred]

RAFAH, Egypt - A smattering of Hamas-affiliated security forces, many of them bearded and dressed in blue camouflage uniforms, fanned out on both sides of the breached Gaza-Egypt border Sunday to jointly police the crossing with Egyptian guards.

Though only about a dozen Hamas forces took up positions, it was their first significant action on the Egyptian side of the border in the five days since Palestinian militants blasted through the partition. Since then, tens of thousands of Gazans have flooded into Egypt to buy food, fuel and other goods made scarce by an Israeli closure of the territory.

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Both Egypt and Israel restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza after Hamas won the election in 2006 and further tightened the closure after the group seized control of the area by force from Fatah in June.

Iran, which has ties to Hamas, offered to help Egypt deal the growing border chaos, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki. Iran and Egypt have no formal relations, and the offer came during a rare visit to Cairo by a top Iranian diplomat. Zaki gave no details on the offer, but said Egypt welcomes cooperation between the two countries through their Red Crescent branches.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians

[Vegasaurus]

1. Even better news!

Iran helping control the border!

Its like an Islamist wet dream.

[bemildred]

2. Yep, you really got to give credit to the Israeli government, pulling this off. nt

[bemildred]

3. Iran offers to help Egypt deal with chaos at Gaza Strip border

Iran on Sunday offered to help Egypt deal with growing chaos on its breached border with Gaza, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said.

The offer came during a rare visit to Cairo by a top Iranian diplomat, Ali Asghar Mohammadi, who serves as the Iranian Foreign Ministry's director-general for Arab, Middle East and North African affairs. He met Sunday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

Egypt and Iran have had no formal ties in nearly three decades, but government ministers from the two countries have met frequently in the past two months. Last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad telephoned his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, for the first time to discuss the Gaza border crisis.

Mohammadi offered Iran's cooperation with Egypt to provide help to the
Palestinians, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki. He did not give details of the Iranian offer, but said Egypt welcomes cooperation between the two countries through their Red Crescent branches.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/948559.html

[ProgressiveMuslim]

5. LOL! nt

[Igel]

4. Common enough strategy.

Create chaos, and then rush in as the saviors to restore order. Assuming that people forget who created the chaos in the first place; oddly, they usually want to and can be counted on to faithfully submit.

[Scurrilous]

6. Hamas, Egyptians guards work together to reclose border

Security forces, militants string barbed wire fence across one of three breaches in border in latest effort to stem flood of Palestinians across frontier. Meanwhile, EU considers sending monitors back to Gaza border

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3499685,00.html

<snip>

"Egyptian security forces and Hamas militants strung barbed wire across one of the breaches in the border Monday in a sign that a six-day opening of the frontier may finally be reaching its conclusion.

Three trucks of Egyptian security forces pulled up to the "Brazil" gate and strung wire across this entry point into Egypt. They were aided by half a dozen bearded and uniformed Hamas militants from the other side of the border.

At the main Salah Eddin gate, meanwhile, Palestinian and Egyptian security forces manned the crossing points, stopping civilian cars and letting trucks through, while pedestrians scoured the nearly empty stores for food and consumer products to take back to the Gaza Strip with them in fear of an imminent border reclosing."

<snip>

"Meanwhile Monday, officials said that the European Union was considering sending its monitors back to Gaza's border with Egypt and possibly other crossing points, provided Hamas offers assurances they will not be at risk.

"The European Union is looking into a comprehensive solution to the question of the (Gaza) crossings, including the possible redeployment at Rafah," a European official told Reuters in Jerusalem, referring to Gaza's only crossing with Egypt."

[azurnoir]

8. If Hamas is actually helping

then perhaps the border will not be quite so "hermetically" sealed, but more control is needed

[KatzManDu]

7. Wait a minute, here...

<i>Both Egypt and Israel restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza after Hamas won the election in 2006 and further tightened the closure after the group seized control of the area by force from Fatah in June.</i>

I have a few question.
1) A militant group seizes control from another group. Wouldn't that force be the occupying force, controlling day-to-day life and being responsible for law and order?
2) There is lots of news about Israel controlling the border with Gaza and that as a violation of human rights. Gaza also borders Egypt and Egypt controlled that border and limited the flow of Gazans. Wasn't that a violation of human rights as well?