'Dozens hurt' in Gaza border clashes

RAFAH, Gaza (CNN) -- At least 38 Egyptian security force members have been hurt in clashes as riot police and armored vehicles sought to restore control over crowds continuing to move through a breached border wall between Egypt and Gaza, Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Saturday.

Aboul Gheit also reiterated Egypt's invitation to Gaza's main political groups to hold talks aimed at resolving the border crisis, The Associated Press reported.

Arab media reported early Saturday that Egypt's government had invited the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group to Egypt to discuss the situation.

"I and all of my brothers in the Hamas leadership welcome participating in this meeting and will seek to make the dialogue a success," Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told CNN in a telephone interview from Damascus early Saturday.

Meshaal said, however, that he had received no official invitation from Egypt and was responding to the reports of the planned invitation. He said he did not know how Fatah would respond.

Hamas and Fatah have been involved in a power struggle over creating a unity government that has resulted in violence in Gaza and the West Bank.

Meshaal said that he understood Egypt's security concerns and that Hamas had offered to work with the country on "management of the Rafah crossing."

Despite an Egyptian official's pledge to keep the border with Gaza open as long as there is a humanitarian crisis, Egyptian forces on Friday began clamping down on the free flow of Palestinians.

Dressed in riot gear, Egyptian forces formed a human chain to keep the Palestinians on their side of the border. The Palestinians pelted the Egyptian forces with rocks; most were deflected by their transparent shields.

Egyptian forces Friday kept Gazans at bay at the crossing with water cannons, cattle prods and clubs. Uniformed Hamas security forces also gathered at the border, trying to keep Palestinians away from the Egyptian police. Read Aneesh Raman's blog from the border between Egypt and Gaza

Undeterred, Palestinians used a bulldozer to break a new hole in a low wall along the border, opening up a new crossing.

Video from the scene and eyewitness reports indicated thousands of Palestinians were still managing to bring in flatbed trucks filled with supplies such as gasoline, cooking oil and other necessities.

Palestinians overran the border early Wednesday after blasting through concrete and metal walls at the Rafah border crossing. Tens of thousands of Palestinians flooded Egypt -- some who haven't left Gaza in years -- draining shops of basic goods that have been in short supply under an Israeli blockade.

Preparation for the action began weeks ago, when Palestinian militants -- camouflaged and under the cover of darkness -- used acetylene torches and high explosives to destroy parts of the Israeli-built walls so that they would easily come down, according to a militant spokesman and a Rafah resident.

Israel has accused Gaza's Hamas leadership of planning the destruction of the border wall "a long time ago" to seize on international sympathy for the Palestinians in Gaza, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Aryeh Mekel said.

Hamas leaders have denied participating in bringing down the wall, but voiced support for the action. Palestinians in Gaza have faced difficulty obtaining supplies since Israel sealed its border with Gaza one week ago in an effort to quell rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel.

That was on top of shortages of such items as cigarettes, cement, chocolate and soda since Israel began restricting the flow of non-humanitarian goods into Gaza after Hamas seized control of the territory in June.

The United States and Israel have pressured Egypt to close the open border areas, worried that extremists could travel undetected from Egypt into the Palestinian territory. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Cal Perry, Kevin Flower, Ben Wedeman and Aneesh Raman contributted to this report.

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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