Tens of thousands of Gazans poured into Egypt on Wednesday to stock up on goods in defiance of an Israeli blockade, after militants blew up parts of the barrier that marks the border.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he had authorised the crossing of the Palestinians as long as they were unarmed.

Buying basic goods

"I told (the security forces) to allow them to buy their basic needs and go back to Gaza as long as they are not carrying arms or anything illegal," Mubarak told reporters in Cairo.

Up to 60 000 Gazans crossed the border, Egyptian officials told AFP.

At least 15 explosions and a bulldozer, allowing people to leave the impoverished territory, which Israel completely locked down last Thursday, knocked down parts of the barrier.

Some 2000 Egyptian border security personnel did not intervene as crowds of Palestinians walked the streets of Rafah and shops opened early to serve them.

Empty cars and donkey carts streamed into Egypt before returning to Gaza weighed down with goods.

"I brought all the money that I had, around $100. I am going to buy cigarettes here and then resell them in Gaza," said Ahmed Halaweh.

All side roads in Rafah were closed in a bid to control the flow of people.

The Rafah breakout came just hours after a tense stand-off at the closed border crossing, where gunfire erupted after a group of Hamas demonstrators, mostly women, forced their way across.

How many dead on each side?

In the past week Israel has killed at least 38 Palestinians — most of them militants — in strikes on armed groups that have fired more than 200 rockets or mortar rounds into Israel, slightly wounding 10 people.

On a visit to Berlin, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called on Israel to lift the blockade saying the rush of Gazans to Egypt was proof of the "difficulties Palestinians face and the need to reopen border posts".

Jordan also called for an end to the blockade with King Abdullah II warning that Israel should not expect "serious" peace talks with the Palestinians if it pursued its punitive action in Gaza.

In Israel, however, officials voiced fears that Egypt's decision to allow Gazans to cross the border unhindered would allow the militants to rearm.

"We are worried, as these breaches not only permit Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, but also permit Hamas to easily infiltrate arms and terrorists from Egypt," foreign ministry spokesperson Arye Mekel told AFP.

The United States formally expressed concern to Egypt in two meetings between Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs David Welch and Egyptian ambassador Nabil Fahmy.

"One of our concerns, and one of the Egyptians' concerns, as well, is that Hamas will use this action and take advantage of it as a cover for additional activities designed not to bring in consumer goods, but to allow fighters and others to get weapons and other kinds of supplies," said State Department spokesperson Tom Casey.

Rivals Fatah and Hamas both blamed Israel for the breakout.

"Israel is responsible for what has happened — this is the consequence of the blockade imposed on Gaza," Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

A Hamas statement said: "The situation went out of control because of the strangulation caused by the blockade that has been imposed during nearly eight months on 1.5 million Palestinians."

But White House spokesperson Dana Perino held the Islamists fully responsible. "The blame for this problem can be laid squarely at the feet of Hamas," she said.

The UN Security Council

The UN Security Council said it would meet again on Thursday to try to agree a compromise statement calling for "an immediate end to all acts of violence" in Gaza and southern Israel, as diplomats indicated the only country not yet on board was the United States.

In Gaza, officials said Israel had allowed in less aid than it had promised when it eased the blockade on Tuesday letting in shipments of cooking gas and fuel for Gaza's sole power station, which ground to a halt on Sunday night.

The power plant received 200 000 litres of fuel oil on Wednesday, in addition to 750 000 litres the previous day, director Rafiq Maliha told AFP.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees also said supplies were less than expected. "There are doubts about whether the promised amount of trucks are going to be let in," said spokesperson Christopher Gunness.

AFP

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