RAFAH, Jan 26: Egypt said on Saturday it would keep allowing the Palestinians to cross the border and stock up on supplies for a fourth day of unfettered access from the Gaza Strip.

However, security forces moved to stop Palestinians from penetrating into the Sinai peninsula beyond the border town of Rafah.

Cairo’s wider concern was reflected in the fact that few security forces were posted at the border itself, most having been pulled back to reinforce checkpoints barring Palestinians from traveling through Egypt, an AFP correspondent reported.

Meanwhile, Palestinians using donkey-drawn carts, buses and trucks continued to pour across the border.

North Sinai Governor Ahmed Abdel-Hamid said that “Palestinians will continue to cross until they get all their needs of commodities and foodstuffs” in response to an Israeli blockade on their impoverished territory, and that Egyptian security forces had been instructed to facilitate the Palestinians’ passage.

He said he was coordinating with the ministries of social solidarity and industry “to secure large amounts of commodities and products to meet the needs of the Palestinians in the country” because many shops had run out of stock.—AFP