Egyptian official: All options open in dealing with Sinai soldiers
kidnappers
Hundreds of Palestinians stranded on both sides of the Egyptian border
following Rafah Crossing closure
Abdul Sattar Hatita Asharq Al-Awsat Sunday, 19 May, 2013
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/05/article55302377

Cairo/Gaza, Asharq Al-Awsat—North Sinai security chief, Gen Samih Beshadi,
said yesterday that all options were now open in dealing with the kidnappers
of the seven Egyptian soldiers. This comes in conjunction with the
continuing closure by Egyptian soldiers of the Rafah Crossing with Gaza.

Sources within the Egyptian president’s office told Asharq Al-Awsat that
President Mohamed Mursi has given instructions to speedily resolve the
issue. The closure of the border crossing—Gaza’s only access to the outside
world, which had enjoyed a relaxation of movement restrictions since the
2011 revolution in Egypt—has cast a shadow over relations between Cairo and
Gaza.

Late last night, North Sinai security sources, as well as Palestinian
sources, said efforts by both sides to reopen the crossing had failed. An
Egyptian official said negotiations with the kidnappers “had failed to
secure the release of the soldiers” and that the “patience of army and
police forces in Sinai was running out,” pointing out that the Egyptian
authorities “may resort to force to release the soldiers”. Beshadi said all
options were now open in dealing with the kidnappers.

The sources added that President Mursi had given instructions to proceed
cautiously and without bloodshed, and that negotiations could lead to a
resolution, while force may complicate matters further.

A security official announced that police and army officers have completed
preparation of plans that are to be implemented if negotiations falter, but
that there was still hope of ending the crisis without violence, in
accordance to President Mursi’s instructions.

General Sayyed Abdul Fattah Harhour, governor of North Sinai, said he had
received a telephone call from President Mursi asking him to follow up
developments in the crisis and the efforts made to secure their release. The
governor pointed out that negotiations were continuing, and that major
figures in Sinai were helping security forces to persuade the kidnappers to
release the soldiers. He added that he hoped the crisis would be resolved as
soon as possible, and that the soldiers would return to their units.

Sources at Al-Arish Airport in Sinai said the airport was closed when
security officers refused to work, in solidarity with their colleagues at
the Rafah Crossing Border Security Department. Officials at the airport,
however, said the closure was due to maintenance work.

On the Palestinian side, Gaza government Interior Ministry spokesman, Islam
Shahwan, said “hundreds of stranded Palestinians, including Legislative
Council deputies, sick people and pilgrims returning from minor Hajj in
Mecca, were subjected to insults by Egyptian police.”

Shahwan said in a statement published on Facebook that “I was contacted by a
number of people who were held hostage and suffered greatly, and were shot
at by Egyptian police.” He added that “what happened today to our people at
the Rafah Crossing was unacceptable and the government must demand an
apology from the Egyptians for the insults directed at women and children
and the fear caused by the threats made by Egyptian police.” Shahwan also
called on Palestinian factions to make a “joint response to the Egyptian
presidency about the insults at the Rafah Crossing.”

Eyewitnesses said hundreds of the stranded were sleeping rough in difficult
circumstances, particularly for the many of them that were returning after
having surgery abroad, or those that were very old or very young. A security
official confirmed that the number of the stranded had risen to 500, adding
that this number was expected to rise further.

Ahmad Ghazi, the undersecretary of the Gaza government’s Foreign Ministry,
said that “talks were being held at the highest level with Egypt in order to
reopen the Rafah Crossing and secure the return of our stranded people
whether they were citizens, deputies or officials.”

In a statement given to journalists, he expressed his hope to resolve the
issue of kidnapped soldiers as soon as possible, adding that the government
in Gaza “had taken intense measures in the border and the tunnels area in
order to contain any security implications.”

Director of the Borders and Crossings Directorate in the Gaza government,
Maher Abu-Sabha, said the failure of Egyptian efforts to release the seven
kidnapped soldiers in North Sinai meant the continued closure of the Rafah
Crossing.

The Gaza government has said Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyyah, the night
before last, received a telephone call from President Mursi. According to
the government statement, Mursi and Haniyyah discussed latest political
developments, especially Palestinian reconciliation, as well as security
issues.

Gen Harhour said a number of measures were taken to contain to problem of
Palestinians being stranded at the border, and that there was coordination
with the border management to build a large tent at the border for
Palestinians to use as a shelter.

The governor promised to provide stranded Palestinians with all their needs
and provide them with humanitarian care and security. He added that any
Palestinian who runs out of money would be provided for by the governorate.