From THE JERUSALEM POST by Associated Press, Feb. 8, 2008:
Egypt boosted troop security along the volatile border with Gaza on Friday ... following an alleged threat by Hamas that the group would stage kidnappings of Egyptian troops if its operatives arrested in the Sinai were not released.
...stepped-up rhetoric by Egypt against Gaza's Hamas rulers, reflect... Cairo's growing frustration in the wake of the 12-day breach of its frontier with Gaza and the ensuing border chaos. Snipers were deployed on rooftops in the Egyptian part of the divided border town of Rafah on Friday, while Egyptian forces were told to move only in armed groups of at least three soldiers....
....the new orders followed a threat by Hamas commanders to abduct Egyptian security personnel if Egypt fails to release 15 Hamas members arrested last week in the Sinai.....The Palestinians arrested here were found carrying weapons and explosives near the border and other remote parts of Egypt's Sinai desert.......
....On Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said no further violations of the border would be tolerated and that anyone daring to cross would have their legs broken.
The unprecedented harsh rhetoric reflected increasing tensions between Egypt and Hamas, which rejects Egypt's proposal to bring the Rafah crossing under the mandate of the Palestinian Authority led by Hamas' rival Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president and Fatah leader....
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