Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    CAIRO, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The governor of North Sinai raised the state of alert in anticipation of any eventuality after thousands of Palestinians barged into the wall separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt at Rafah checkpoint on Wednesday morning, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported.

    After blowing up the wall separating the Egyptian Rafah side from the Palestinian one, those Palestinians entered Egypt and headed immediately for shops to buy food stuffs and medicine supplies, and went to gas stations to fill containers, the MENA report said.

    Many Palestinians said they were forced to barge into the Egyptian side as a result of the Israeli blockade of the impoverished territory, according to the report.

    Egyptian Policemen and border guards have not interfered in anyway with the Palestinians, it added.

    It was the second time in two years that Palestinians destroy the fence wall at the borders with Egypt. In September 2005 after Israel pulled out from the Gaza Strip, thousands Gazans crossed into Egypt.

    On Tuesday, brief clashes erupted as hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators, mostly Hamas supporters, thronged and tried to push their way through the Rafah border crossing, which left some 15 Egyptian security force members and at least four Palestinians injured by gunfire or stones.

    The situation at the border crossing later was under control and the border was shut again. Several vehicles had embarked on transferring back intruding Palestinians, who had broken into the Egyptian side of the border, to the Gaza Strip, said MENA.

    Israel completely sealed off all Gaza crossings last Thursday and doubles strikes against Palestinian militants to revenge the increase of Palestinian rocket attacks against southern Israel.

    The sole power station of Gaza halted operation Sunday due to the lack of fuel, putting the enclave into darkness.

    On Tuesday, Israel only allowed five fuel tankers into Gaza from the Nahal Ozz crossing in the east of Gaza City in the wake of a humanitarian crisis emerged after five days of closure.

    Many Gazans were enraged by Egypt's shutdown of the Rafah crossing, the only gateway bypassing Israeli territory for Gaza, and Egypt reinforced security on the border with about 300 policemen on Monday.