Gaza's Not the Key, Philadelphi Is

(National Review) Daniel Pipes - Egyptian authorities promised in their 1979 peace treaty with Israel to prevent "acts or threats of belligerency, hostility, or violence," but in fact permitted massive smuggling of armaments to Gaza from Egypt via tunnels. In September 2005, Israeli forces withdrew from the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer-long and 100-meter-wide area between Gaza and Egypt. By removing this layer of Israeli protection, an exponential increase in Gaza's arsenal predictably followed, culminating in the Fajr-5 missiles that reached Tel Aviv in November. Western governments should signal Hamas that they will encourage Jerusalem to respond to the next missile attack by retaking and enlarging the Philadelphi Corridor, thereby preventing further aggression. The writer is president of the Middle East Forum.


2012-11-29 00:00:00

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