Hundreds of Palestinian workers blocked the entrance to the Erez Crossing in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning to protest new security restrictions and the death of a fellow worker they blame on Israel. Security at the Erez crossing, the main entryway to Israel for Palestinian workers with permits, has been greatly heightened since a Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up there on January 14, killing four Israelis. The protest was prompted by the death Monday of a 41-year-old Palestinian worker, Mohammed A-Sheikh, trying to cross. The Israel Defense Forces said he had a heart attack while waiting on line. Initially, Palestinian hospital officials said he had suffocated to death amid the cramped conditions at the crossing point, but later refused to confirm the information.
| "He's dead. That's all that matters. It's their fault. Somehow." |
At least seven other people needed medical attention due to the press of the crowd, Palestinian sources said Monday.
| "Yeah! They forced 'em to press like that!" |
Hours before dawn Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians gathered in front of the crossing, blocking the road with concrete blocks to enforce a daylong strike against working in Israel. "Erez is the checkpoint of death," they chanted. "I am a worker and I have the right to live."
| Find a job somewhere else, then... |
Sheikh was among the estimated 15,000 Gazans who have passes to enter Israel and start waiting hours before dawn to get through the security check and go to work in Israel. The wait has grown much longer since January 14 when Israel tightened security checks - and reduced the entire exit from Gaza to two one-person "carousel gates" after a suicide bombing at the crossing demolished a new security check area and killed three soldiers and a guard.
| "Blew up the new security checkpoint. Guess you'll have to use the old one. Tough, ain't it?" |
The Palestinian side of the border crossing has a terrible reputation among the Palestinian workers, and the IDF says it is up to Palestinian police to maintain order in the chaos that reigns there. On Monday morning a joint Israeli-Palestinian security team conducted an inquiry into what exactly happened leading to the death of the worker but no conclusions were drawn. |