The border opens at Raffah

As the gates swung open on 28 May 2011 Egypt opened the Raffeh crossing with Gaza. For moment no commerical trade is allowed and the very young and the old can cross without restriction. Egypt, under the pressure of a political tsunami at home, has begun dismantling its coordinated policy with Israel against Hamas.
For the first time in years, freedom of travel, albeit not complete, is open to Palestinians living in Gaza.
On the other hand, GuamDiary wonders why the western, and particularly US, media cringe hands in despair fearing the worst for Zionist Israel.
Israel is the 800 pound guerrilla that dominates the region militarily and has a bunker full of at least 200 atomic weapons. It is not a pushover although recent military ventures have wounded it badly on the world stage.
Of course, the usual refrain is why Hamas refuses to recognise Israel. Why should it? Israel's blitzkrieg war against Hamas in the last days of 2008--Cast Lead--was launched as a war of collective punishment against Gazans so that the pain and deaht visited on them by Israel would make them rise up and overthrow Hamas, a democratically elected party as governing the Strip. It failed but not without killing 1400 civilians --men, women and children--and destroying industry, agriculture, and Gaza's infrastructure.
Whatever is Israel's case, its propaganda machinery has long convinced the west it is a democracy in a sea of Arab reaction. Well today that argument wears thin, and Israel, especially for the US, has become an albatross, and like a wounded bull elephant dangerously and easily willing to go on the warpath.
The opening of the border at Raffeh spells the beginning of the end of the special relations of Egypt with Israel, even though Cairo says it will respect treaties with Zionist Israel. But a crack in the structure that Sadat created by getting back the Sinai peninsula and recognising Israel, shall widen and drive further Israel into the isolation it has constructed for itself.