Hamas is urging European monitors to reopen Gaza's main international gateway - the Egyptian-Gaza border city of Rafah - which has been shut for one day because of security warnings received by Israeli intelligence.
***Late-breaking news: The crossing was re-opened late Thursday afternoon.
At the same time, the Israel Navy reports that precisely because of the closure of Rafah, the terrorists have stepped up their attempts to smuggle arms and weapons into Gaza via the sea.
This morning, Navy personnel detected two Arab swimmers on their way from Egypt to a Gaza shore, laden with arms and weapons. The Israelis opened fire, hitting one, but refrained from shooting at the second because of his proximity to civilians. The maritime smugglers were detected in a no-swim zone.
An IDF spokesman said today there is still a "very high alert" regarding a possible terror attack at Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing point into Gaza. The warnings of terrorism at Rafah-Kerem Shalom are merely a small part of the 90 terrorist warnings being studied by Israel's intelligence agencies.
Hamas accused the European monitors of shutting the Rafah crossing in order to stop Hamas officials from side-stepping the Western aid embargo by bringing cash into Gaza. Just a few days ago, Hamas senior Mahmoud A-Zahar brought in $20 million in cash via Rafah. Echoing the line that PA citizens are starving because of the embargo, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, "The closure comes amid the escalating siege against the Palestinian people." Rafah, of course, is not the only entrance into Gaza.
Reuters reports that the European monitors sent a letter to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas last week, protesting against the use of Rafah to bring in large quantities of cash, raising fears the passage could be shut down.
Col. Yoram Lax, commander of the Israel Naval Base at Ashdod, said the IDF had cooperated with the Egyptian Coast Guard to stop the two would-be smugglers. The Egyptians called for the smugglers to stop, but the calls were ignored. The IDF then opened fire, causing them to abandon their weapons caches. The two smugglers are now apparently back in PA hands. Many Israeli security officials have long decried the lack of Egyptian cooperation in the war against smugglers from Egypt into the Negev and Gaza.
***Late-breaking news: The crossing was re-opened late Thursday afternoon.
At the same time, the Israel Navy reports that precisely because of the closure of Rafah, the terrorists have stepped up their attempts to smuggle arms and weapons into Gaza via the sea.
This morning, Navy personnel detected two Arab swimmers on their way from Egypt to a Gaza shore, laden with arms and weapons. The Israelis opened fire, hitting one, but refrained from shooting at the second because of his proximity to civilians. The maritime smugglers were detected in a no-swim zone.
An IDF spokesman said today there is still a "very high alert" regarding a possible terror attack at Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing point into Gaza. The warnings of terrorism at Rafah-Kerem Shalom are merely a small part of the 90 terrorist warnings being studied by Israel's intelligence agencies.
Hamas accused the European monitors of shutting the Rafah crossing in order to stop Hamas officials from side-stepping the Western aid embargo by bringing cash into Gaza. Just a few days ago, Hamas senior Mahmoud A-Zahar brought in $20 million in cash via Rafah. Echoing the line that PA citizens are starving because of the embargo, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, "The closure comes amid the escalating siege against the Palestinian people." Rafah, of course, is not the only entrance into Gaza.
Reuters reports that the European monitors sent a letter to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas last week, protesting against the use of Rafah to bring in large quantities of cash, raising fears the passage could be shut down.
Col. Yoram Lax, commander of the Israel Naval Base at Ashdod, said the IDF had cooperated with the Egyptian Coast Guard to stop the two would-be smugglers. The Egyptians called for the smugglers to stop, but the calls were ignored. The IDF then opened fire, causing them to abandon their weapons caches. The two smugglers are now apparently back in PA hands. Many Israeli security officials have long decried the lack of Egyptian cooperation in the war against smugglers from Egypt into the Negev and Gaza.