Gazans form 'human chain' to protest Israeli blockade

Palestinians were forming a human chain the length of the Gaza Strip on Monday in protest at a crushing Israeli blockade, with Israeli forces on alert for any rush on the border.

Under a light rain, thousands of schoolchildren were joined by adults along Salaheddin Road, the main highway traversing the centre of the impoverished coastal strip, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

Slogans such as "The Siege of Gaza Will Only Strengthen Us", "The World Has Condemned Gaza to Death" and "Save Gaza" were among banners brandished by demonstrators, who were gathering peacefully.

The Popular Committee Against the Siege, a politically independent group headed by Jamal al-Khudari, an MP with close links to the Islamist Hamas movement, had called for the demonstration against the months-long siege.

"This is a peaceful and civilised act to let the people express their rejection of the siege and of collective punishment," Khudari told journalists. "We are raising a cry to the world for it to act."
Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip in June from forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, backs the demonstration.

"This is a message addressed to the international community and to the Israeli occupation, and I hope it will seize the opportunity to lift the siege," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said.
Hamas MP Ismail al-Ashqar warned that if this does not happen "there will be a hurricane that will flood the whole region."

Israel has sealed the territory to all but vital humanitarian supplies since Hamas seized power, in a bid to put pressure on the group to halt rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel by its own militants and others.

The Palestinians and several international agencies have said the sanctions amount to collective punishment of the civilian population.

Huzeifa al-Masri, 14, said he and his classmates from the northern border town of Beit Hanun had come because "there is hardly any food, and the Israeli incursions are frequent. We want to live in security like the rest of the world."

Israel has warned Hamas that it will defend its territory if there are any disturbances.

"Israel will not intervene in demonstrations inside the Gaza Strip but it will ensure the defence of its territory and prevent any violation of its sovereign borders," said a joint statement from Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

Their statement accused Hamas of "orchestrating a premeditated effort to put civilians on the front line.

"Israel is working to prevent an escalation, but has made it absolutely clear that if there is an escalation, the responsibility will be entirely on Hamas's shoulders."

Media reports said the army was prepared for any attempt to storm the border fence around the Gaza Strip aimed at breaking the blockade. The army and police said they had beefed up forces in the border area.

According to Israeli army radio, Hamas may stage a mass march on the border to protest against Israel's closure of Gaza, where most of the 1.5 million population depend on aid.

By late morning, demonstrators led by Hamas officials had begun to march towards the Erez crossing point -- the major one between Gaza and Israel -- but had said nothing about what their intentions were.

Media reports said organisers were planning to place one person every metre (yard) along the roughly 40-kilometre (24-mile) road running from Rafah to Beit Hanun, for a total of around 40,000 people.

Salaheddin Road runs through the centre of the territory and is never much closer than around three kilometres (two miles) from the border.

Reports said the Israelis' main concern was what might happen at its northern terminus near the Erez crossing.

On January 23, Palestinian militants blasted several holes in the border barrier between Gaza and Egypt, sending a tide of hundreds of thousands of people streaming into the Sinai on a mission to replenish depleted stocks.

Hamas gunmen and Egyptian troops resealed the border on February 3.

Meanwhile, an Israeli youth was moderately wounded when a rocket fired from Gaza hit the entrance to a housing complex in the southern city of Sderot, officials said.
That attack came after four Palestinian militants were killed by Israel raids overnight.

Agence France-Presse - 2/25/2008 12:37 PM