GAZA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Palestinian gunmen blew up a section of the border wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Wednesday, witnesses said.

Residents of the southern Gaza town of Rafah said a series of explosions created large holes in the concrete wall that separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

On Tuesday, scores of Palestinian protestors clashed with Egyptian policemen in an attempt to force their way into Egypt.

Israel closed its border crossings with Gaza last week in what it said was a bid to make Palestinian militants stop firing rockets into southern Israel.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has been largely sealed off since the Islamist group seized the territory in a brief civil war in June. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Richard Meares)

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