"More than 2,500 leave Gaza as Egypt opens border" by Reuters | August 31, 2008
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Egypt opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip yesterday, allowing more than 2,500 people to leave the Hamas-controlled territory and about 1,000 to enter, Palestinian officials said.
Egyptian security and border sources said the Rafah crossing would open for two days to allow Gazans with foreign residence permits and humanitarian cases to cross into Egypt.
Hamas wants Egypt to open Rafah permanently to ease the Israel-led blockade on Gaza, but under a US-brokered accord it cannot do so without the consent of Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement is Hamas's rival.
Representatives of the rival Palestinian factions have been meeting in Cairo to seek reconciliation among themselves, but officials familiar with the talks said agreement seemed unlikely.
Ahem: "Hamas insists that Palestinian factional reconciliation is still possible"
Tension between Fatah and Hamas remains high, and thousands of government employees, medical workers and teachers affiliated with Fatah went on strike in the Gaza Strip yesterday over what they said was their poor treatment by Hamas.
Hamas threatened to penalize Gazans for not reporting to work and to strip doctors of their private practices if they did not show up at public hospitals.--more--"
Nothing about the daily indignities of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation though, huh, MSM?
