Egypt's border with Gaza

The World
The World
The chaos in Gaza is uncontrollable. People are carrying a wide range of materials and goods back from Egypt into Gaza. Except for the vehicles' headlights, it's pitch dark. This Palestinian man says Egyptian vendors are taking advantage by raising prices. He says whatever he's been able to buy these few days will only last him a couple of months. The Egyptian government is preventing shops from restocking in the border town where Palestinians have been shopping. If there's nothing to buy, they'll stop coming�is the Egyptian President's idea. Israel and the US want him to take control and close the border, but that could result in violence and a PR disaster, a disaster that would please the Muslim Brotherhood, a Egyptian opposition group with ties to Hamas. The Brotherhood tried to take a leadership role at the border and collected and sent aid to the Palestinians. This political analyst says the Brotherhood will now lose this momentum in the fallout. This newspaper columnist says the Brotherhood's influence can be exaggerated and Hamas would rather have the Egyptian government's official recognition. Many Egyptians and Palestinians want the Rafah border to stay open but only if regulated. Palestinians say they have suffered enough under Israeli siege. The analyst says pressure is huge under Israelis and Americans and their support cannot be lost. Both Israel and US fear an open border will mean Gaza will resupply Hamas and make peace with Israel more difficult.
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