EL-ARISH, Egypt (AFP) — Egypt has started building a concrete wall along its border with Gaza, a security official said Thursday, even as it speaks to Hamas about improving the dire situation in the increasingly isolated enclave.
"Egypt has started work on a three-metre (ten foot)-high wall along the border with Gaza," the official said, adding that a three-kilometre (two mile) section of the wall had already been built.
"It is a preventative measure. There is no threat of another border breach at the moment," the official said.
Gaza-based militants in January blew up the previous border, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to enter Egypt and stock up on supplies after a crippling Israeli blockade aimed at ending militant rocket fire.
Despite the withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the Strip in 2005, the situation there has grown steadily worse since Hamas won Palestinian elections the following year.
British humanitarian agencies on Thursday warned that the situation in Gaza was the worst in 40 years, urging the European Union to hold talks with Hamas and calling for an end to the blockade.
"The situation for 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is worse now than at any time since the beginning of the Israeli military occupation in 1967," the eight non-governmental organisations said in a joint report.
"The international policy of isolating Hamas has not reaped any benefits," they said.
The wall announcement came amid diplomatic efforts to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and as delegations from Hamas and Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks on how to improve the Gaza situation.
"Mahmud al-Zahar led the Hamas delegation and Mohammed al-Hindi led the Islamic Jihad delegation," a security official said. "They will be discussing Gaza with Egyptian officials in (the north Sinai town of) El-Arish."
Islamic Jihad on Thursday claimed it had blown up a military jeep on the edge of the Gaza Strip, killing an Israeli soldier.
International efforts meanwhile gathered pace in Egypt with the aim of brokering a truce after an escalation of violence that has killed some 130 people in eight days.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak received a phone call from Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad told the official MENA news agency.
"President Mubarak reiterated the need to stop the Israeli escalation in Gaza, the need to open the borders, end the blockade and achieve the calm needed to continue negotiations with the Palestinian authority on final status issues," MENA reported.
At the same time Thursday, US Middle East envoy David Welch was in Cairo for talks with officials on how to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians.
"Part of the Egyptian-American effort is aimed at reducing the military confrontation with a view to reaching a prolonged period of a complete halt to military actions on both sides," Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said.
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