Egypt
Starts Building New Wall on Gaza Border
CAIRO (RIA
Novosti) — Egypt has begun the construction of a new wall
along its border with the Gaza Strip, local media said
on Thursday.
An Egyptian
security official told the Al-Ahram newspaper that the new
three-meter-high (10-foot-high) concrete wall was a "preventive
measure" aimed at strengthening the country’s national
security, as well as fulfilling international commitments.
In January,
thousands of Palestinians entered Egypt after militants blew
up parts of the wall dividing Egypt and the Gaza town of Rafah.
Egyptian
authorities then allowed Palestinians free access to the Sinai
Peninsula to buy food, fuel and other essential items in short
supply, following an Israeli embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip
in punishment for almost-daily rocket attacks by Islamic militants
on Israeli towns.
On February
4, after Egyptian security forces sealed the border wall following
international pressure, violence broke out between Palestinians
and Egyptian police. At least one Palestinian was killed and
six injured in armed clashes at the Rafah checkpoint.
Under international
agreements, the opening of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing can
only be sanctioned by Israel with the participation of European
Union observers.
The Gaza
Strip has been ruled by Hamas since last June, when the hard-line
Islamic group took control of the territory, ousting President
Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement.