Egypt Tries to Plug Border; Gazans Poke New Hole
January 26, 2008 8:02 am Gaza under Hamas, Haunting Images 
Kevin Frayer/Associated Press
Palestinians carried goods from Egypt back to Gaza on Friday, passing a damaged section of the Rafah border wall.
Steven Erlanger, Egypt Tries to Plug Border; Gazans Poke New Hole - New York Times, January 26, 2008
GAZA — Egypt tried to restore its border with Gaza on Friday, stationing riot police officers in an effort to block Palestinians from entering. But Palestinians used a bulldozer to knock down another portion of the wall separating Egypt and Gaza.
The Egyptians announced on loudspeakers that the border would be closed at various times of the day on Friday, but allowed Palestinians who were inside Egypt to return to Gaza laden with goods, even as cranes lifted pallets of supplies over another part of the border barricade. The barrier on the Egyptian side is a low concrete wall topped with barbed wire.There were small clashes throughout the day, with short episodes of rock-throwing. Egyptians fired guns into the air and aimed water cannons above the heads of the those in the crowd to keep them back. The new breaches in the wall were large enough for cars and trucks to drive through, and some Egyptian guards then retreated.
Egypt is under pressure from Israel and the United States to restore the international border and regulate it, but does not want to use excessive force against the Gazans, whom the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, has insisted are starving under the pressure of Israeli restrictions on imports and travel.
But often in the past, Egypt has used force, including water cannons and automatic-rifle fire, against Palestinians who have breached the border, and the government will be calculating when its effort to respond generously to a crisis veers into instability or chaos. Nor does Egypt want responsibility for serving the population of Gaza, removing the burden from Israel.