CAIRO, April 9 (Reuters) - Egypt warned Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Wednesday against any attempt to breach its border with Gaza or take advantage of "fabricated" domestic problems in Egypt. A Hamas leader said on Tuesday the border, which militants blasted open in January, could soon be breached again. He said an "explosion" was imminent if the frontier remained closed. "Any attempt to violate the sanctity of the Egyptian border by force or to illegally encroach on the border line will be met with the appropriate seriousness and firmness to protect the border and its sanctity," a foreign ministry statement said. The border tensions coincide with riots in Egypt over low wages and rising prices. Two people were killed and more than 110 injured in clashes between Egyptian police and workers on Monday and Tuesday in the Nile Delta. "Efforts to create crises on the Egyptian border coinciding with fabricated problems inside Egypt are a matter that raises doubt and suspicion over the true motives behind the statements of the leaders of Palestinian Islamic groups," the foreign ministry statement said. It did not clarify what internal problems it was referring to. Hundreds of members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood were detained in the run-up to local elections on Tuesday. The border breach in January allowed hundreds of thousands of Gazans to stream across the frontier at Rafah to stock up on food and fuel for 10 days before the frontier was re-sealed. Israel, which controls the Gaza Strip's borders, has restricted the passage of goods and fuel in a bid to maintain pressure on Hamas Islamists opposed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's peace moves towards the Jewish state. Israeli leaders have said Gazans should not expect to be able to lead normal lives while militant groups in the Hamas-run Strip continue to fire rockets at Israel. But they have promised to avoid a humanitarian crisis. Egypt has been trying to mediate a truce between Israel and Hamas that could include new border crossing arrangements and an easing of the Israeli blockade. (Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Robert Woodward)
Israeli soldiers take part in a drill simulating the collapse of a house in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv, April 9, 2008, as part of a five-day nationwide exercise to ...
