Egypt aids Gaza

Facing intense regional diplomatic pressure, Egypt yesterday opened its border with the Gaza Strip, a day after Israel's deadly commando raid blocked a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid from reaching 1.5 million Palestinians living in the coastal enclave.

The Egyptian decision highlights the sensitivity Cairo faces in its uncomfortable relationship with Gaza. The government of President Hosni Mubarak has closed the border for all but a few days each month in an effort to weaken the militant group Hamas, which controls the strip. Much of the Arab world assails that policy as capitulation to U.S. and Israeli interest at the expense of suffering Palestinians.

Israel's killing Monday of at least nine activists on the aid flotilla swiftly changed the dynamics, forcing Egypt to show a willingness to skirt Israel's blockade of Gaza. The government announced that Mubarak had ordered the crossing to be unlocked to "give access to the necessary" humanitarian and medical assistance.

The statement did not say how long the border would remain open, but some reports said it would be for an unlimited time.

The 82-year-old president has faced widespread criticism at home for not doing more to help fellow Muslims to the north, most notably during and after Israel's 2009 military assault against Gaza that killed about 1,400 Palestinians and Cairo's ensuing construction of a deep underground barrier to seal off smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza.

"Immense pressure is mounting on the Egyptian government," said Emad Gad, an analyst at the al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "Many Egyptians blame our government for playing a big part and allowing the siege on Gaza, and what happened will now make the government run out of political justifications on why the siege is still taking place."

Loosening Egypt's Rafah border crossing is one of the few options the Arab world has against what it views as Israel's intransigence toward Middle East peace.

As they have done many times over the years, Arab capitals voiced outrage at Monday's Israeli raid, and thousands of Muslims took to the streets in protest.