Egyptian forces trade fire with Palestinians at border

[Phx_Dem]

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Palestinian gunmen and Egyptian forces exchanged fire at Gaza's border with Egypt on Monday and a Palestinian civilian was killed in the fighting, medical workers said.

Two members of the Egyptian forces and four Palestinians were wounded in the violence, which erupted a day after Cairo closed the breached frontier.

Hamas Islamists blasted open the Rafah border crossing on January 23 and Egypt allowed Palestinians to enter its territory to stock up on supplies in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade of the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, Egyptian forces used barbed wire and metal barricades to seal the only remaining gap on the Egyptian side of the frontier at Rafah, a town straddling the border.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080204/ts_nm/palestinians_israel_egypt_dc_2

[Vegasaurus]

1. It's all very peaceful in on the border

The fighting began after Egyptian security men stopped the flow of people trying to go back home and the crowd responded with stone-throwing, drawing smoke grenades from the Egyptians as gunfire rang out, local residents said.

At least one person, a Palestinian civilian, was killed, said medical workers at the scene.

"I saw about 20 members of the Egyptian security forces suffering from either smoke inhalation or injuries from stones thrown at them by Palestinians," a witness said. "The gunfire is over now."

Medical sources at the Rafah hospital said 17 policemen were treated for smoke inhalation and two for head and foot injuries caused by stones thrown at them. Ambulances were expected to bring in more casualties, the sources said.

Egyptian security officials said Palestinians also threw petrol bombs at the police and border guards and at the border wall separating Egypt and the Gaza Strip.