Hamas vows to keep Egypt border open

MIDDLE EAST:Black-clad Hamas activists yesterday drove a bulldozer through a section of Israel's iron wall separating Gaza from Egypt and the movement vowed to keep the border open as long as Israel shuts legal crossings into the strip.

Egyptian police, who were ordered to close the border by mid-afternoon, fired warning shots and bursts from water canon over the heads of Palestinians to prevent them from crossing the border.

The Palestinians responded by throwing stones, injuring several Egyptian officers, and continued to cross.

The Egyptians withdrew into their side of the divided town of Rafah.

Israel and the US exerted strong pressure on Egypt to close the border but Cairo cannot risk doing so until imprisoned and impoverished Palestinians are able to secure essential supplies.

The police were ordered to exercise utmost restraint.

Egypt fears both spontaneous and organised protests if it acts too soon and with force.

Later yesterday, Hamas accepted an invitation by Egypt to hold talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in Cairo to solve the Palestinian schism.

"I and all the brothers in the Hamas leadership welcome participating and will seek to make the dialogue a success," Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told Reuters.

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, in an interview to be published today, invited the two sides to meet for talks in Cairo.

By reopening the wide Salaheddin crossing, Hamas enabled Palestinians to continue replenishing food, medical supplies and fuel. Builders hired porters to carry bags of cement across the rubble. Herders drove cattle, sheep and camels into Gaza. Families went to divided Rafah to smell the fresh air of Egypt after being cooped up in the narrow strip since Israel closed the border crossings last June in response to the takeover by Hamas.

Several hundred Palestinians crossed with a few possessions and no intention of returning. While trying to stem the flow into Egypt, the police were allowing Palestinians to return to Gaza carrying purchases, excluding arms and drugs. The UN estimates that 700,000 Gazans have flooded across the 11km frontier since early Wednesday when armed Palestinians brought down two-thirds of the wall erected by Israel.

Although Hamas did not order its armed wing to mine the wall with explosives, the movement may have encouraged members of allied groups to carry out a long-planned operation.

Hamas may also have decided to go ahead after four days of total closure and six months of tightening siege had turned international opinion against Israel.

Egypt has its own reasons for closing the border. Cairo is determined to prevent Palestinian militants from moving into the Sinai peninsula with the aim of mounting attacks on Israel from there or aiding radical bedouin who have carried out bombings at Egyptian tourist resorts.

Cairo also fears collusion between Hamas and the opposition Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

The Egyptian press reported that several days before Israel's wall was breached, Mr Meshaal had telephoned a senior figure in the brotherhood to ask him to organise demonstrations condemning Israel's siege of Gaza.

At some rallies, slogans were raised against the rule of Mr Mubarak, and scores of demonstrators were arrested.

As Egyptian police battled Palestinians at the border, Mr Mubarak called on Israel to end the siege.

Cairo has joined Riyadh in insisting on the re-establishment of the unity government that was formed under Saudi auspices last March.

Israel and the US reject the inclusion of Hamas in decisionmaking because the movement does not recognise Israel and refuses to renounce armed struggle.