The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Rafah

Thousands of Gazans poured over the breached border with Egypt for a 10th straight day on Friday as officials in Cairo held fresh talks with the Islamist Hamas movement on restoring order. For a second day, Egyptian security forces attempted to block vehicles passing through the two makeshift crossing points in the divided border town of Rafah. But the action drew an angry response from Hamas militants who tore down the heavy metal roadblocks erected by police prompting the Egyptian authorities to allow cars through in the afternoon. Motorists were unable to drive too far into the Egyptian part of Rafah, however, as police set up roadblocks causing immense traffic jams. The leading Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram had announced in its Friday edition that the authorities would close one of the two crossings blown open in the border wall within hours in readiness for the complete resealing of the frontier.