AL-ARISH: Fourteen Palestinian patients from the volatile Gaza Strip crossed into Egypt on Wednesday through an Israeli border crossing point used by vehicles, a Palestinian official said. The Palestinian patients first crossed into Israel at the main Erez checkpoint with northern Gaza, then through the Al-Oja cargo border crossing between Israel and Egypt, where buses were waiting to carry them to the Nasser Medical Center in Cairo for treatment, said Hani Jabbour, a Palestinian official. Israel refused to let nine others go through, without giving a reason, Jabbour said. Shadi Yassin, an Israeli army spokesman, said three of the expected Palestinians didn t cross because they were detained by Israel s Shin Bet security services. Six others didn t show up at the crossing. "They just didn t arrive, Yassin said. Wednesday s crossing was the first since Hamas blew up parts of the wall on Egypt-Gaza border on Jan. 23, letting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians cross over. Hamas is seeking a reopening of the Rafah border crossing and a role in monitoring the border, something Egypt rejects. Egyptians have called for a return to the 2005 international agreement that gives Israeli and European Union monitors a supervisory role. Hamas has criticized the old system for giving Israel a de facto veto power over the crossing. Egyptian officials have repeatedly warned Hamas to stay away from the border and not to reopen it by force. -AP
