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Rafah Protesters Bully PA Officials

(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - A senior official in Ramallah said that the situation at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt has become "intolerable and dangerous" for PA officials. "Almost every day we receive complaints from officials that they were harassed or assaulted by demonstrators at the border crossing," the official said. Some officials complained that the demonstrators pelted them with shoes and rotten eggs and accused them of stealing financial aid earmarked for the Palestinians. When some of the Palestinians who participated in the launching ceremony of the Geneva Accord arrived at Rafah on their way home, they were confronted by hundreds of angry protesters, including scores of Fatah gunmen, who smashed the windscreens of several cars and stole the suitcases of some of the delegates. Hassan Asfour, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, fled back to the Israeli side of the border after he was attacked by the mob. In a separate incident, some 30 Fatah gunmen raided the offices of the Khan Yunis local government on Monday to demand that they be recruited to the PA security forces. The gunmen evacuated the building only after the PA agreed to absorb them in various security organizations.
2004-01-01 00:00:00
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