ID :
353219
Sat, 01/03/2015 - 07:05
Auther :

Egypt to expand the buffer zone with Gaza

Tehran, Jan 3, IRNA - Egyptian authorities declared intention to extend the depth of its security buffer zone from 500 meters to one kilometer on its border with the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip. The Egyptian decision would lead to the demolition of more than 800 homes and the displacement of 1100 families. North Sinai provincial governor Abdel Fattah Harhur told AFP that work will begin next week to double the width of a buffer zone being built along the border with the Gaza Strip. Harhur claimed he had met families from the area to be evacuated to discuss the financial compensation or the alternative housing. The initiation of the buffer zone started few days after a bombing attack on October 24 that killed 30 Egyptian soldiers to the north of the Sinai Peninsula. Egyptian authorities claimed that the buffer zone would help in eliminating the terrorist groupsˈ attacks against its security forces that have recently increased. Amnesty International had earlier condemned the process and demanded an end to the demolition process of hundreds of homes on the border with Gaza./end

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