Chaos in Gaza spills into Egypt

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Hundreds of angry Palestinians streamed into Egypt on Wednesday after militants with stolen bulldozers broke through a border wall; two Egyptian troops were killed and 30 were wounded by gunfire during the rampage.

About 3,000 Egyptian Interior Ministry troops who initially had no orders to fire swarmed the border but were forced to withdraw about a half mile, said security forces Lt. Sameh el-Antablyan, who announced the casualties.

Gen. Essam el-Sheikh said Egyptian forces later fired back.

The scene was one of chaos. An Egyptian armored vehicle was burning and hundreds of Palestinians could be seen crouched in farm fields just inside Egypt.

The militants' rampage through the southern Gaza town of Rafah illustrated the growing lawlessness in Palestinian towns, especially in Gaza, and represented the most brazen challenge to the authority of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Earlier, the Egyptian troops fired tear gas and shot into the air. A witness said three Palestinians were injured, one seriously, when a troop carrier crushed him against a wall.

Police imposed a curfew on the Egyptian side, all shops were closed, and authorities cut electricity, plunging the scene in near total darkness.

Abbas, who has condemned the chaos, has been unable to impose order, and his failure to keep the gunmen in check is expected to harm Fatah's prospects in Jan. 25 parliamentary elections.

The rampage began late Tuesday, after Palestinian intelligence arrested Alaa al-Hams, an al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militant, on suspicion he and his followers kidnapped human-rights activist Kate Burton and her parents for two days last week. The Burtons were among 19 foreigners abducted by Fatah gunmen in Gaza in recent months. All have been freed unharmed.

Al-Hams' followers fired at the Palestinian security headquarters in Rafah, where he was held, briefly took over four government buildings, and then drove to the Rafah crossing, reopened last month after intense negotiations directed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Firing in the air, they closed the entrance gate and told those waiting to leave. They set up an impromptu checkpoint, turning away travelers, but left after three hours.

The militants then stole two bulldozers in Rafah and led an impromptu parade of hundreds of jubilant residents toward a wall a few hundred yards from the border. Five militants rode in the shovel of one bulldozer, while children held onto the back of the vehicle.

"We are going to do everything we can to pressure the Authority to release our leader," said an al-Aqsa activist who gave his name as Abu Hassan.

The bulldozers smashed two holes in the concrete barrier at the same spot Hamas militants had blasted through it during the chaos that followed Israel's Gaza pullout in September. Palestinian security officials had closed the earlier hole with a patch of heavy concrete blocks, but those quickly gave way Wednesday.

Hundreds of Palestinians swarmed into the buffer zone as militants fired in the air. "Many people walked through. The Palestinian police can't stop them," said Fawzi Shaheen, 26, of Rafah, who ran toward the border.

Witnesses said up to 1,000 Palestinians rushed into Egypt, but Egyptian Brig. Adel Fawzi, director of criminal investigations for North Sinai, put the number at 300.

There are large numbers of divided families in the region, and some used the situation to reunite with relatives.

The Rafah crossing was handed to Palestinian control, under European supervision, as part of a U.S.-brokered deal with Israel last month. Since then, the crossing was forced to shut down several times during attacks by gunmen.

Israel threatened to close the crossing in coordination with European observers if the breach is not repaired, according to a complaint sent by the Defense Ministry to the United States and the Palestinians, the ministry said.

Israel also asked Egypt to arrest Palestinians who cross from Gaza through the breach. Israel has warned of militants and weapons entering Gaza now that Israel does not have control over the border. Elsewhere, Palestinian gunmen burst into a Rafah house early Wednesday and tried to kidnap the parents of Rachel Corrie, who was killed in 2003 as she protested the impending demolition of a house in the southern Gaza town, according to a witness.

The five gunmen appeared to be affiliated with the Fatah movement, said Samir Nasrallah, the Corries' host. The gunmen eventually relented after being told who their targets were, he said.

Corrie, of Olympia, was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 as she tried to stop it from demolishing Nasrallah's house. Her parents, Craig and Cindy, have repeatedly visited Nasrallah since their daughter's death. They left Gaza safely after the attempted kidnapping, Nasrallah said.