Thousands from Palestinian surge over border remain in Egypt

Friday, August 27, 2010   E-Mail this story   Free Headline Alerts

CAIRO — Nearly 10,000 Palestinians, many assumed to be Hamas infiltrators, remain in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula where many have been sheltered by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood. Officials said the Palestinians included Hamas fighters and operatives, who entered Sinai in late January in wake of the destruction of the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip. They said the Palestinians were believed to have been provided haven by Bedouins in the Sinai as well as Egyptians on the African mainland.

"The Egyptian security services are intensifying their efforts [to capture the Palestinians]," Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abdul Hamid, governor of North Sinai, said. In a briefing on Feb. 8, Abdul Hamid said the Palestinians were not known have committed crimes in Egypt. But he said the Hamas operatives were being concealed by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood movement. Several Brotherhood members were arrested in Sinai over the last 10 days, the governor said. He did not elaborate. More than 700,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip flooded the Sinai in late January and early February. The lion's share of Palestinians were shoppers who returned to the Gaza Strip by Feb. 3. Still, officials said Hamas members distributed about $1 million in counterfeit U.S. currency to buy supplies in El Arish, the capital of the Sinai. They said more than 3,500 Palestinians were arrested for remaining in the Sinai beyond the Feb. 3 deadline to return to the Gaza Strip. Abdul Hamid said Egypt would deport all Palestinian infiltrators to the Gaza Strip. He said more than 2,100 of them were sent to Gaza over the last week. Some of the Hamas infiltrators were also said to have bought property in Sinai. Egyptian law bans foreigners from purchasing land in Sinai, populated mostly by Bedouin tribes. On Feb. 7, the state-owned Al Ahram daily reported that Egypt arrested 650 Palestinians in El Arish. The newspaper said authorities also seized 22 vehicles with Palestinian Authority registration plates. The detainees were said to have included Hamas members. Officials said scores of Egyptians also infiltrated the Gaza Strip in an attempt to join Hamas. They said some of them were expelled by the Hamas regime and later interrogated by police in Sinai. At one point, officials said, up to 20,000 Egyptians illegally entered the Gaza Strip. Saudi nationals also infiltrated the Gaza Strip from Sinai in an attempt to join Hamas. On Feb. 4, an Al Qaida-aligned website reported that at least four Saudi fighters entered the Gaza Strip. The website called on other Saudis to follow.

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