Hamas threatens to break Gaza siege again

GAZA: The Islamist Hamas movement on Tuesday threatened to storm the Gaza Strip's borders in a repeat of a breach in January that allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to pour into Egypt.

"All options are open to break the siege" by Israel, Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas leader told a Gaza City news conference when asked if the border could be breached again.

"I expect that what will happen next will be greater than what happened before, not only against the Egyptian border, but against all the crossings," he added.

Israel has sealed off Gaza from all but vital goods since Hamas seized power last June, in a bid to halt rocket attacks from the territory and to put pressure on the Islamist-run government.

"We call parties to move urgently and immediately to end the siege and warn of an unprecedented explosion if it continues," Hayya said.

On January 23 Palestinian militants demolished the border fence between Gaza and Egypt, sending hundreds of thousands of Gazans streaming into Egypt to stock up on supplies. Egyptian and Hamas forces sealed the frontier breach on February 4. Gaza City,

Tuesday, AFP