Take a look at this article today
UN: Some 350,000 Gazans stream into Egypt as militants blast border wall
. . .
Some 350,000 Palestinians poured out of Gaza and into Egypt early Wednesday, the United Nations said, after masked gunmen blew dozens of holes in the wall delineating the border.
The Gazans rushed to purchase food, fuel, and other supplies made scarce by Israel's blockade of the Strip, after militants detonated 17 bombs in the early morning hours, destroying some two-thirds of the metal wall separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt.
Hamas did not take responsibility for knocking the border wall down, but Hamas militants quickly took control of the frontier, as Egyptian border guards took no action.
And Egypt seems to be taking the position that this is OK given the blockade that Israel has set up. See this Mubarak: Gazans allowed in because they are starving
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced Wednesday that he had ordered his troops to allow Palestinians to cross into Egypt from Gaza because they were starving.
Speaking at the Cairo International Book fair, Mubarak told reporters that when Palestinians began breaking through the Gaza-Egypt border at Rafah in force, he told his men to let them in to buy food before escorting them out.
"I told them to let them come in and eat and buy food and then return them later as long as they were not carrying weapons," he said, in answer to reporters' questions.
The Palestinians in Gaza are starving due to the Israeli siege," he said. "Egyptians troops accompanied them to buy food and then allowed them to return to the Gaza Strip."
As to Israel, it takes the position that it has some sort of "agreement" with Egypt that it will help Israel keep Gaze sealed up.
But said Wednesday it expects Egypt abide by its agreements and solve the crisis. "It is the responsibility of Egypt to ensure that the border operates properly, according to the signed agreements," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel.
But
Hamas' Damascus-based political leader Khaled Meshal said Wednesday that his organization would be willing to work to resolve the chaotic situation on the Gaza-Egypt border, but only if the border were placed under exclusive Palestinian and Egyptian control.
And he further said
. . . international agreements can be abrogated and noted that Egypt was not a signatory to that 2006 border agreement. As if urging Egypt and Arabs to ignore the agreement, he pointed out that Egypt had in the past nationalized the Suez Canal and Gulf states had nationalized their oil industry.
"I am addressing all the Arabs: Don't say it as an excuse that there is an international agreement concerning the Rafah crossing," he said.
Directly addressing the Egyptians, he said: "This [agreement] is not binding on you or on our people."
He called on Arab countries to help lift the siege on Gaza. "No one can believe that you can't lift the siege ... don't deceive yourselves," he said.
He urged the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for Sunday in Cairo to call for lifting the siege on Gaza, which he called the "biggest prison in history."
"Any other decision is unacceptable," he added.
There is going to be big pressure on Sunday for the Arab states to support the Arabs of Gaza and encourage Egypt not to help Israel seal off the Gaza. As a practical mater it would seem that the only party that can bring real pressure on Egypt to support Israel in this is the United States by threatening to cut the large payments it makes to Mubarac government.