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Fleeing Gaza

June 17th, 2007 · 98 Comments

The Erez crossing is a bit of a mess. Swarms of Palestinians are waiting to leave amassing just before the Israeli controlled elctronic gate that is about two-thirds of the way through the half-kilometer long cement corridor connecting Gaza to Israel. There are also dozens of kids milling about looting what little scrap metal and wiring hasn’t already been stripped. The crowd stops abruptly at the arbitrary point in the tunnel about 200 meters from the electronic gate that Israel has apparently declared a red line. Cross the redline and tear gas comes rocketing down the tire. Waiting Gazans have strung a piece of concertina razor wire across the invisible line to remind the crowds where to stop in a rather futile attempt to maintain order.

A lot of those waiting to leave seemed to be ex-security force officers who managed to sneak past Hamas checkpoints set up on the road about a half mile before Erez. The checkpoints have been set up to search for wanted Fatah officers seeking to flee to the West Bank. One intelligence officer with goalie gloves and a soccer kit in his bag, said he got through by lying to the Hamas guards at the checkpoint that he was the goalie for a Palestinian soccer team and they had a match in Jordan.

Tags: Hamas · Gaza

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