Priest says Egyptian merchants selling goods fill Gaza's streets

Published: 2008-01-25

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- The streets of the Gaza Strip were full of Egyptian merchants selling their wares following the Jan. 25 breach of the Gaza-Egyptian border, said a priest in Gaza. The Egyptian merchants gave the area a festival-like atmosphere, hawking goods not seen in the Palestinian territory for ages, but it was all at an inflated price, said Msgr. Manuel Musallam, pastor of Holy Family Church. "Our streets are full of Egyptians. It is crowded in the streets like the time of the feasts," he said. "But people can buy only things they can consume in one or two days. That is not a solution. This can't bring stability." News agencies reported tens of thousands of Palestinians -- facing a blockade from Israel -- poured across the border into Egypt to stock up on supplies. Msgr. Musallam said many brought back items not readily available in Gaza, such as chocolates or televisions. Since the militant Islamic group Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June, Gaza's border with Egypt normally has been closed. But Israel tightened the closure of its border to the Gaza Strip and temporarily banned imports, including the fuel necessary to run Gaza's power plant, following a sharp increase in the number of rockets Palestinian militants fired into Israeli border towns. After Egypt began repairing the border breach, Palestinian militants bulldozed another hole in the chain and concrete fence.

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