Israel to retake control of Rafah crossing?
If this is true, it's the first positive news to come out of Gaza in a long time.The London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi is reporting that as a result of Egypt's decision to allow some 1200 (I think the number is actually higher than that, but that's the number in the story) 'Palestinian pilgrims' into Gaza without a security check, Israel has asked to retake control of the Rafah crossing. As you may recall, those 'Palestinians' included a number of senior terrorists who had undergone training in Iran and Syria, and some $150 million in cash.
According to the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Israeli officials recently sent letters to United States leaders and the European Union protesting the Egyptian government’s decision to allow 1,200 Arabs into Gaza without a security check. Israel reportedly requested US approval to retake the Rafiah crossing between Egypt and Gaza and put international monitors in charge of traffic in the area.For those who have forgotten, the arrangement by which the 'international monitors' would control Rafah was rammed down Israel's throat by US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in the fall of 2005. In the map above, the Rafah crossing is along the Philadelphi corridor. Another map follows which some of you may find clearer:
The Rafiah crossing was controlled by international monitors after the IDF withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but the monitors fled during the Hamas takeover of Gaza last year. Israeli officials have expressed concern that groups entering Gaza from Egypt are not checked by security officers, and may be senior terrorists smuggling cash for Hamas.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:05 PM
1 Comments:
The EU broke its commitment to secure the area and Israel is under no obligation to honor an agreement that has been reneged. Retaking control of Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor is vital to Israel's security.
If the US objects, Israel should remind the State Department Israel had an international guarantee that wasn't worth the paper it was printed on and only Israel herself should secure the borders.
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