Israel assisted 100 Arabs Wednesday night in emigrating from Gaza to Egypt.
The IDF provided buses to transport the PA Arabs from the Erez Crossing on the northern tip of Gaza to the Kerem Shalom Crossing on the southern tip of Gaza and then across the Egyptian border. The buses, traveling on Israeli roads, were surrounded by heavy security, to prevent the Fatah-affiliated Arabs from escaping while in Israel.
The transfer was negotiated with the Egyptian regime. Some 30 of the Arabs were found to have been involved in past terrorist activities.
The Arabs have been camping out at the Erez crossing since Hamas took power, seeking to flee Gaza, preferably to Judea and Samaria. Several were wounded when a Hamas terrorist opened fire at the crowd Monday, sparking a gunfight with IDF soldiers over the heads of the crowd.
On Wednesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the IDF to allow the wounded and sick among the group through the security fence to be treated in Israeli hospitals. PA reports say 55 Arabs were allowed into Israel following the order.
The Physicians for Human Rights group had filed a petition with Israel’s Supreme Court demanding that the Arabs be allowed to enter Israel. The court ruled that the state must do “everything [it] can do to save human life," but acknowledged that the security forces had the right to bar entry to foreign nationals.
Wednesday, 90 Ukrainians, many married to Gazan men and fearing life under Hamas, were evacuated from Gaza through the Erez Crossing.
Olmert to Meet Abbas in Egypt
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet Fatah chief and PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt next week.
The meeting will take place under the auspices of Egypt’s Mubarak regime and include Jordan’s Hashemite ruler Abdullah II as well. It will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the Sinai.