Border Crisis: How Long Will Egypt’s Gazan Guests Stay?

One need not believe that good fences make good neighbors to think that broken fences – and ambiguous invitations – are bound to sour neighborly relations.

At Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip, the fence and Egypt’s stated security posture both broke down on Wednesday, as thousands of Palestinians streamed into the Sinai to buy goods that have become difficult or impossible to find in Gaza over the last two years. In a testament to Arab hospitality, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak at first allowed the onslaught of visa-less visitors. Said Mubarak: “I told [the security forces] to allow them to buy their basic needs and go back to Gaza, as long as they are not carrying arms or anything illegal.” And so, unequipped with a plan to ensure that the Palestinians would indeed go home after stocking up, Egypt allowed countless Gazans to make their way over the wreckage of a felled steel security wall over the course of the last few days.

Please click here to read more at Foreign Policy Watch.