Officials in the Egyptian city of El-Arish in Sinai say that Gaza Arabs have spent roughly $250 million in the city since Hamas broke through the Rafiah border last week. Purchases are expected to total $480 million by the weekend, they said. Egyptian authorities estimate that 700,000 Gaza Arabs have entered Egypt since the border was opened.
Most of the money was spend on building materials, particularly cement. The price of cement in El-Arish rose from 430 Egyptian liras per ton to 1,200 liras per ton. Residents of Sinai have begun to express anger over the extreme price increases caused by the Gaza Arabs’ spending, and clashes broke out earlier in the week as some Sinai Bedouin attempted to frighten Gaza Arabs away from their towns.