[Jerusalem Post] Yaakov Katz and Herb Keinon - One senior defense official said that Egypt's decision to unilaterally open the Rafah crossing earlier this month and allow 2,000 Palestinians, including a number of terrorists en-route to Iran, to leave Gaza was "grounds for a diplomatic crisis." A government source said that Israel wants good relations with Egypt and sees its relationship with Cairo as a key strategic interest. But, the source said, "there is frustration on the Israeli side about what goes on at the border. We understand that the Egyptians can't do everything, but they must do more. The strengthening of Hamas is not just a threat to Israel, but a threat to the Palestinian Authority and to regional stability." Diplomatic officials said that Egyptian inaction stems from a number of different reasons, including: An economic interest, since the arms smuggling is a multi-million dollar "industry" for those involved on the Egyptian side. An interest in not exacerbating ties with Sinai Bedouin, who are believed to be involved in the smuggling and who have a tense relationship with the central government in Cairo. An interest in letting the arms smuggling continue in order to place pressure on Israel to open up the Camp David Accords and let the Egyptians increase the number of soldiers on the border. General ineffectiveness of the Egyptian security forces. A belief that Hamas is now well ensconced in Gaza, and that it is not in Egypt's interest to push Hamas too hard, lest they push back and cause domestic problems in Egypt via the Muslim Brotherhood.
2007-12-26 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive