This grave development on the Palestinian-Israeli-Egyptian border came after very critical living conditions that were lived by Palestinians in Gaza, where electricity went off for at least 72 continuous hours, before resupplying the only Power Plant in Gaza with some of its needed fuel by the Israeli side, and the threat of the Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak to strongly strike all positions of the radical movement of Hamas that is ruling the Gaza Strip after its coup last June 14th, 2007, in addition to the comprehensive closure of all Gaza crossings, which lead to large shortage in numerous goods, on top of which Gasoline and cooking Gas, where hundreds of Gazans started this morning stop using their private vehicles saving what they still have of fuel in their cars for urgent transportation, and using public transportation that also suffers of critical working conditions due to the fuel cut off. These decisions of the Israeli government were faced by massive popular reactions organized by Hamas popular wings, especially women associations which rallied to the streets towards the border line between Gaza and Egypt last Tuesday in an attempt to open the 6-month-closed border between the two sides, the move that was faced by Egyptian use of riot police to push back angry protesters on the Palestinian side causing the injury of tens of Palestinians.

Suddenly, and after hours of the protest on the border gate, during the early morning hours of Wednesday at least 5 explosive devices planted by unknown masked militants were exploded creating at lease 6 spots in the border metal and concrete wall between Gaza and Egypt, the action that was followed by using bulldozers to complete the opening of the border, paving the way for stuck Gazans who rushed out of the Gaza Strip. A slight glint of freedom was in front of them after living in a virtual prison due to months of Israeli closures.

Where did many of them go? To the Egyptian Mediterranean city of Al Arish and began shopping every thing. Therefore, we decided to go there, and see by our own eyes, what is happening there?? First, you can rarely find taxis in Gaza city to take you there, all of the taxis are full of “immigrants” to Egypt, or Sinai. Arriving the Palestinian part of Rafah means looking at thousands of people entering the large portion in the wall, and others coming back home carrying what the 10 fingers of hand – and much more – can carry.

And it is real, you can enter Egypt without a visa, personally I had the same feeling when I travelled from France to Germany, no check points, no stamps, and no passports… People need not more than 20 seconds to pass the way from Asia to Africa!!

In Egyptian Rafah, we meet with Mohammed Ali 30 years old, former employee in the PA ministry of Health before Hamas coup said “I’m coming here today with my family to buy all of our needs that we wanted to buy since months, but we couldn’t either because the nonexistence of them or the very high prices in Gaza”. While Alaa’ Megbel 24 years old from Jabalia Refugee Camp north of Gaza asked for an immediate vacation from his work to run to Egypt and buy 6 sacks of cement to complete the construction of his apartment to get married “Since 5 months I’m searching for only 6 sacks of cement to complete the construction of my home, my wedding date was postponed three times because of this, now I can buy the cement and with cheep cost”. Some bought cement at 27 Egyptian pounds per sack. A sack of the same size costs 150 NIS, or more than five times the price in Egypt. At times, even the cement needed to make tombs for the dead has been scarce in the Gaza Strip.

Eyewitnesses reported that early this morning Egyptian security specifically allowed thousands of Palestinians to drive into Al Arish for shopping and to buy gas, where it was realized the existence of Egyptian border police on the border line, but without any kind of intervention.

Some news reports said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak issued his direct instructions to the border police to let Palestinians pass and buy their needs, in light of the continous Israeli closure imposed on the coastal Strip since around 8 months, the issue that encouraged many of Gaza residents to head to Al-Arish and buy all the needed goods, including medicine, food, drinks, clothes, tobacco, cigarettes, fuel….etc.

Gazan merchants sent trucks to import medicine and other goods.
A sudden influx of tobacco from Egypt resulted in a drop in the price of a pack of cigarettes From 20 NIS down to 10 NIS.

According to the UN in the Gaza Strip, around 350,000 Palestinians passed the Egyptian-Palestinian borders on the Gaza Strip, and reached the Al-Arish Egyptian coastal city.

Still in Rafah, where there is no vehicles to take us from Rafah to Al-Arish, and in front one of the groceries in Egyptian part of Rafah city, an elderly woman, Ameena Awad, “in the 60s of age” answered our question about the reason she travelled all the way down to Egypt in this cold weather saying: “I’m here for many reasons, some kinds of food started to end in our home, my grandsons are dreaming of eating chocolates, and I’m here to buy some chocolates for them”.

Finally, we knew how to go to Al-Arish, the only possible way is forgetting your humanity for a while, and jump in the cows truck hundreds of Gazans attempting to feel of partial freedom for some minutes.

In the truck, I was lucky to be with a group of youth aged between 17-23 years old, all of them were happy, I was hearing them in the background, all of them were thinking how much it is funny to cross borders between countries without visas, non of them even thought of what does it look like if Egypt decides to close the border now. I started to talk with them trying to know the reason of their being in cows’ truck, and their plans for the visit.

Mos’ab Al-Haw, 18 years old from Nusairat Refugee camo in the meddle of the Gaza Strip said: “it is my first time in my life I’m out of Gaza, I’m so happy” Asking him about how dangerous to cross borders illegally, I was answered by his friend Hazem Darweesh: “What is legally in this universe, is our life in Gaza legal, I prefer being arrested in Egypt than staying in Gaza while borders are open”, “so you don’t even think of returning to Gaza”, I asked, “At the contrary, I can not be out of Gaza for long time, definitely I will go back this evening, but it is my right to leave my living place for some hours in 18 years”. Suddenly, one of the “passengers” shouted saying: “Listen, non of us is even thinking of staying in Egypt illegally, and we are not immigrants, all of us are Palestinians who love our country, and for me I’m here searching for a medicine for my patient child, who was banned from medical treatment because of the closure for the three times in 4 months”.

In the way, we haven’t recognized any kind of security checking, or any kind of police obstacles, but the driver used to take some side roads several times.

In Al-Arish, Ahmed Al-Arabi, 38 years old, an owner of dairy products shop in Al-Hesba district in Al-Arish told us: “In less than one hour all the shop products were sold, It is like Tsunami, I called the farm to send me two trucks of milk, cheese and yoghurt to sell today” “Two trucks of products used to be sold in my shop in one week at least” added Al-Arabi, expressing his pleasure for such “Tsunami of Palestinians”.

While walking, I passed by a cinema, and I was shocked to know that it was completely booked for Palestinians for the next two days, and all of them paid the tickets already.

“What a surprise! All the shops are full, all the public transportation vans are full, I promised my family to bring them a take away meal for tonight’s dinner, but now I can not neither buy food for my family nor finding a van to get back home!” said Fatema Al-Wahsh, 29 years old, resident of Al-Arish in her reaction to the “Gazans’ pilgrimage” to Al-Arish and all of northern Sinai towns. “No, I’m not angry at all for this, today I can not offer a meal for my family, but at least Palestinians will do so for their families, they are always welcome, and I know that they have lived very hard conditions, and I do not matter even if they bought all of Al-Arish goods, we are brothers, and all Arabs should take their responsibility to end the siege of the Palestinian people” Added Al-Wahsh, describing her welcoming of the Palestinians’ purchasing of every thing they find in Al-Arish.

However, the Egyptian border police didn’t intervene to prevent the entering of Palestinians, it was visible and clear the number of police and army personals deployed between Al-Arish and the rest of the area of Sinai to prevent deepening the entry of Palestinians into the Egyptian territories more, where reports said that hundreds of police members are on the eastern part of Al-Salam Bridge that links Sinai with the rest of Egypt and is over the Suez Canal searching every car to prevent the passing of Palestinians into the western bank of the Canal, which might complicate the situation more.

Moreover, other security officers on the western bank of the Canal prevent all journalists coming from Cairo and other Egyptian cities to cross the bridge in the way to Al-Arish and Rafah to cover the flee of Gazans to Egypt.

It is worthy to mention that it is not the first time Palestinians flee to Al-Arish in such a way, it is the second time, after they did the same after the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last September 2005 according the unilateral disengagement plan of former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon.

In addition, hundreds of Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side of the border for months due to the Israeli closure of Rafah crossing point, streamed back into the Gaza Strip, having found a sudden solution to their plight, after.

In its first official comments on the events of today, Hamas movement’s leader and the former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismaeel Haniya expressed the commitment of his movement to launch an immediate negotiations between his movement with the Palestinian Presidency in Ramallah and the Egyptian side to control the border and reopen Rafah border according to mutual agreement between all parts, describing what happened as a natural action by stranded people facing death day by day.

Haniya denied the desire of his movement, which controls the Strip, to solely control Gaza borders with Egypt, calling for setting new arrangements for the Rafah Border agreemenet that was agreed upon between the PA with Israel and Egypt under the supervision of US Secretary General Condoleezza Rice to open a Palestinian-Egyptian crossing under the direct observation of the EU.

On the other hand, Israel expressed it concern over the situation on the Egyptian-Palestinian borders, calling on Egypt to stop this disorder on the border to prevent smuggling weapons and fighting machines through the border.

In addition, Israel stopped the supplying of fuel to Gaza Power Plant after delivering 200,000 liters in stead of continuing the fuel to reach 1.2 million liter as a response on the border breaches between Egypt and Gaza.

Maher Essa, an independent political analyst living in Gaza, spoke to us about his opinion saying: “Despite my rejection to such acts that show the Palestinians as creators of chaos, I can not blame any one of those who went there; during the past months and especially the latest weeks we lived unbearable and totally inhumane living conditions, there is shortage in every thing, even in drinking water, and what happened wasn’t explosives in the concrete wall, it was a translation of the human explosion among the Palestinians”.

Political sources expected that within 24 hours the rule of order will be brought back to the Egyptian-Palestinian borders after the return of all Palestinians back to Gaza.