by Joshua Lapide

The Egyptian army seems powerless to stop the flood, which is now flowing in both directions. Mubarak appeals for dialogue between Hamas and Fatah. Egyptians and Israelis demonstrate against the isolation of the Gaza Strip.

Gaza (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Thousands of Palestinians from Gaza continue to enter Egypt to re-supply themselves with fuel and other basic necessities, after the blockade decreed by Israel seven months ago. The Egyptian army has tried to stop the leak at the Rafah border, but some Hamas militants immediately opened others. There are now hundreds of vehicles travelling in both directions: Egyptians going to trade in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian exiles reuniting with their relatives, families going for supplies in Egypt, supermarkets in Gaza restocking their shelves.

Israel's defence minister continues to sound the alarm over the danger that new terrorist commandos could cross into Egypt and Israel through Rafah. But the Egyptian army seems powerless against the pressure of 1.5 million Palestinians who for months have endured shortages of drinking water, soap, medicine, food.

The breach at the Egyptian border ends the isolation of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel after Hamas came to power seven months ago, taking control from Fatah, the organisation linked to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). This also led to a rebound for the Hamas movement, which had been marginalized by the last elections in Palestine and accused of terrorism.

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak defines the situation in Gaza as "unacceptable", and demands that Israel "lift the siege" and "resolve the problem".

Mubarak also launched yesterday a proposal for a meeting between Hamas and Fatah representatives, to be held in Cairo. Khaled Meshal, the Hamas leader exiled in Syria, immediately accepted the invitation.

But Abbas placed a condition on the encounter: that Hamas give power over Gaza back to Fatah.

Meanwhile, in Egypt and Israel there have been demonstrations in favour of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. Yesterday in Cairo, more than 1,500 people gathered at the appeal from the Muslim Brotherhood to protest the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The gathering took place at the International Book Festival, which is being held in the Egyptian capital.

In Israel, the organisation Gush Shalom and other Israeli human rights groups have organised for today a convoy of cars and trucks to bring basic necessities into Gaza and break the embargo.

• Palestine
• Israel
• Egypt
• Rafah
• Palestinian
• blockade
• embargo
• shortages
• Hamas
• Fatah