Palestinians Fire on Egyptians at Gaza Border

Palestinians fired on Egyptian contractors installing an underground metal barrier between 20 and 30 meters deep along the border between Egypt and Gaza.
Reuters reported:

Egypt is stepping up security on its border with the Gaza Strip after earth moving equipment came under fire from the Palestinian side for three days, a security source said on Saturday.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said Egypt was installing an underground metal barrier between 20 and 30 meters deep along the short border strip where Palestinians have dug tunnels to circumvent an Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Egyptian officials say authorities have been installing steel tubes in the ground at several points on the border, but their purpose has not been specified.

Egypt had stationed about 200 policemen and increased armoured vehicle patrols along the length of the border and in areas where excavating is under way, the security source said.

“We have sent new forces from the police to the border with Gaza after repeated shooting from the Palestinian side,” the source told Reuters.

Shots had been fired from the Palestinian side of the border at equipment in the area since Thursday, the source said. No injuries were reported.

Egyptian authorities suspect those shooting were smugglers afraid that the work will damage tunnels used to take goods into Gaza clandestinely, the source added.

#2 December 19, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Mike W commented:

WTF is El Reuters talking about”Palestinians have dug tunnels to circumvent an Israeli blockade of Gaza? The tunnels are to smuggle guns and munitions into Palestine from Egypt and people out of Palestine and into Egypt.This has nothing to do with Israel except the guns and munitions are used in most cases against Israel.
This is Egypt`s blockade of Palestine.
#3 December 20, 2009 at 6:33 am
No Man commented:

No man is saddened by the fact that no one died.
#5 December 20, 2009 at 11:01 am
chuck in st paul commented:

Mike – Palestinians have dug tunnels to circumvent an Israeli blockade of Gaza

I think that means the Israelis have been good at stopping it by land and sea where they have control so the bad buys have been using Egypt instead. Now the Egyptians are trying to stop it along their border. I think that’s what they mean anyway.
#6 December 20, 2009 at 11:33 am
marc in calgary commented:

If the palestinians are so upset that the Egyptians are blocking the importation of strawberries, apples, pasta and the like, why don’t they just grow their own? What else could they be up to?
El Reuters…
#7 December 20, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Jim Rose commented:

I can’t wait to see Western leftists marching against Egypt for building a wall next to the Palestinians….oh, right…that’s only bad when the Jews do it. My bad.