Egypt, Jordan urge world to intervene in Gaza

Egypt to transport 500 tons of food, medical supplies to the Strip; Amman concerned about Palestinians' plight

Egyptian closed the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Gaza Interior Ministry said. "Egyptian authorities told us that the terminal had been closed," the ministry said in a statement.

Egyptian authorities on Thursday temporarily opened the border crossing to allow the entry of Palestinians injured in three days of Israeli air strikes, allowing only 11 injured Gazans to cross.

"The ministry feels disappointed that Egypt took this step," Iyad al-Bozum, the spokesperson for Gaza's Interior Ministry on Friday, said, referring to the closure of the main crossing to Gaza.

"Egypt's decision shows disregard for the suffering of the injured and other travelers. The Palestinian government had prepared ambulances and traveler buses with the expectation that the crossing would remain open on Friday as Egyptian officials previously declared," Bozum stated.

However, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has ordered the Egyptian army to transport 500 tons of food and medical supplies to aid Palestinians in the Strip, Al-Ahram's Arabic website reported Friday.

A statement issued by the Egyptian military said diplomatic efforts by Egypt are ongoing to "stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, under the direction of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi."

Earlier on Friday Egypt's foreign ministry condemned what it said was Israel's excess use of military force and the collective punishment policy it is adopting against the Palestinians.

"Egypt rejects Israel's irresponsible escalation in the occupied Palestinian lands amid its excess and unjustifiable use of military force and the subsequent bloodshed of innocent civilians," a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry read.

Egypt urged swift intervention by the world powers to put a stop to the bloodshed. It vowed the Palestinian issue will continue to top its foreign agenda, emphasizing its "full backing" to the Palestinian people.

US secretary of State John Kerry on Friday spoke to his Egyptian counterpart and reached out to Qatar in a bid to get both states to use their influence to quell the fighting, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Egypt seizes 20 Grad rockets smuggled in from Gaza

On Thursday Egypt's security forces seized 20 Grad rockets being smuggled in from the Gaza Strip through a tunnel by militants in northern Sinai, security officials said.

The rockets, along with their launch pads, were seized late Thursday after a firefight between security forces and militants in the town of Rafah bordering the Palestinian enclave, they said.

Egypt's army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Samir confirmed the haul.

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza has been pounding central Israel with rockets, while an Israeli air war on the enclave has killed more than 100 Palestinians since Tuesday.

Tunnels under the town of Rafah are used to smuggle food, fuel and consumer products into the densely-populated and Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Hamas and other militant groups reportedly use secret tunnels to bring in arms and money.

In March, Egypt's military said it destroyed 1,370 smuggling tunnels under its border with Gaza, as Cairo's ties soured with Hamas after the ouster of Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi last July.

Meanwhile, Jordan's King Abdullah II said Israel's military operation against Hamas in Gaza might compromise efforts to achieve a two-state solution, he told US Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday in Washington.

Referring to the crisis in Gaza as a "dangerous Israeli escalation," the Jordanian monarch stressed that developments over recent days "would increase the suffering of the Palestinian people and foil attempts to resume peace talks between Palestinians and the Israelis."

"The King also warned against the vacuum caused by the stalled negotiations on the final status issues which are based on the two-state solution," the Jordanian government said.

Hundreds of demonstrators have held a rally in front of the Israeli embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman on Wednesday to condemn Israeli Air Force strikes in Gaza. Carrying Palestinian flags, the demonstrators urged the government to cut ties with the Israeli regime. "We will launch the third intifada," the angry protesters chanted.

The Jordanian government also condemned the Israeli attacks and called for an immediate stop to the airstrikes in Gaza. Government spokesman Mohammad Momani said that the attacks that killed dozens of Palestinians were "barbaric". He said the "barbaric aggression" had "negative repercussions on the Gaza Strip and the whole region." "Jordan demands Israel stop all forms of escalation. The international community should actively intervene to stop the Israeli aggression," Momani said.

(with AFP)