Updated on
Summary
A gun battle between Egyptian troops and Hamas forces killed an Egyptian soldier and wounded four Palestinians on Wednesday during a protest against an anti-smuggling wall Cairo is building on the Gaza border.The violence was the most serious between Egyptian and Hamas forces since Cairo began constructing the underground steel barrier a month ago. The project could choke off the movement of weapons and goods through tunnels into the Gaza Strip.Israel and Egypt maintain a blockade of the territory, which is ruled by Hamas Islamists who oppose international efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.Weapons and a wide range of commercial products are smuggled into the territory through a network of tunnels crossing the border with Egypt. Cairo has come under US and Israeli pressure to stop the trafficking. On the Egyptian side of the frontier, security officials said a 21-year-old soldier was killed by gunfire from the Palestinian part of the divided town of Rafah.Witnesses on the Gaza side of the border said members of Hamas's police force fired at the Egyptians.Hundreds of Palestinians have turned out to protest against the wall. Witnesses said dozens of demonstrators threw rocks at Egyptian soldiers, who then opened fire, wounding at least four Palestinians.Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil, said that Hamas regrets the violence that ensued.First of all, we lament any incidents that occur between brothers: between our brothers in Egypt and the Palestinians. This is a regrettable thing. We never wished that something like this would happen. All what we wished for is that there would be protests, but that they would be non-violent, and that there wouldn't be any (violent) reactions from the Egyptian side, he said. Cairo has played down the scope of the dig on the 14-km (8-mile)-long border. Hamas calls the obstacle a wall of death that could smother tunnels providing a commercial lifeline for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.Egyptian officials have said steel tubes were being placed at several points along the frontier to form a barrier, but have not elaborated on its purpose.Al-Bardawil added that he hopes the violent episode will never repeat itself.We only wish that our message to our Egyptian brothers will be delivered with the fewest losses, since we are dealing with brothers. Despite a difference in points of view, and a difference in translating events, it should never lead to any form of violence: verbal or actual violence. And so, we regret these events, and we hope that they never get repeated, he said. Tunnel-builders say some 3,000 of the underground passages were operational before Israel launched a three-week Gaza offensive a year ago, but only 150 were still functional following the conflict and subsequent Israeli air raids.The blockade has drawn international condemnation over hardships caused to Palestinians in the impoverished coastal enclave and its impact on efforts to rebuild homes and infrastructure after the Gaza war.
