Egypt unofficially blockades Palestinian transit to and from Gaza Strip – until its diplomat’s kidnappers are handed over. Six days after the naval attaché at the Egyptian embassy in Gaza City Hossam Musseili was snatched by masked gunmen, Cairo has suspended permits for Palestinians to enter Egypt from Gaza or enter Gaza from northern Sinai. DEBKAfile’s military sources report Cairo’s warning to the Palestinian Authority and Hamas that the blockade would remain in force until they surrendered the abductors to Egypt.
Wednesday, Feb. 15, the Rafah terminal was practically deserted except for a few foreigners. DEBKAfile adds: The Egyptian government knows who the kidnappers are. They are members of the Atiya clan of Rafah, one of the Palestinian crime families operating the weapons-smuggling tunnels from northern Sinai to the Gaza Strip. Last week, Egyptian security officers rounded up Atiya clansmen living on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border. Musseili was snatched as an act of retaliation. The abductors pinned it on a made-up group called The Freedom Brigades. Their demand to free all Palestinian prisoners in Egypt was an attempt to force the release of their kinsmen detained in El Arish, northern Sinai. |