Associated Press / April 30, 2011
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JERUSALEM — Egypt’s announcement that it will open a key border crossing with the Palestinian Gaza Strip within days sparked concern in Israel yesterday and revealed how the upheaval in the Arab world is shifting the Mideast conflict.
Under Hosni Mubarak, its former president, Egypt restricted the movement of people and goods through the Rafah crossing in keeping with a blockade it imposed on Gaza along with Israel. The restrictions were aimed at weakening the Hamas militants who rule Gaza, and whom Egypt and Israel saw, until recently, as a common enemy.
After Mubarak’s ouster in February by a popular uprising, Egypt’s new transitional Cabinet and ruling military council are taking a cooler line toward Israel and the United States. Egypt has also been warming its ties with Israel’s enemies, chiefly Hamas and its main backer, Iran.
Egypt’s new foreign minister, Nabil al-Araby, said Thursday that the closure was about to end, calling the decision to close the crossing “a disgusting matter’’ in an interview with the Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera.
Araby said the crossing would be opened “in the coming days.’’
Israeli officials would not comment publicly yesterday, but Israel is “troubled by recent developments in Egypt,’’ an Israeli government official said.
Israel views the Gaza blockade as essential to minimizing the flow of weaponry and militants into the territory, where Palestinian squads regularly launch rockets at Israeli towns, and to pressuring Hamas.
“In the past, despite efforts by the Egyptian government, Hamas succeeded in building a formidable military machine. If those efforts were to cease, how much easier would it be for Hamas to build a terrorist military machine,’’ the official said.
The decision appeared linked to the surprise announcement one day earlier that the rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, had signed a reconciliation agreement brokered by Egypt. The deal is scheduled to be signed on Wednesday in Cairo, a Palestinian Authority spokesman said yesterday. It is to lead the way to a transitional unity government and elections.
That announcement was also greeted with dismay in Israel, which said it ruled out any chance of peace talks with a Palestinian government that includes the Hamas militants. Hamas, which rejects peace talks and is committed to Israel’s destruction, is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the European Union, and others.
The announcement on the border crossing also appeared to reflect a responsiveness by Egypt’s new military rulers to street sentiment hostile to Israel and the United States. A recent poll showed more than half of Egyptians favor an annulment of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
The number of travelers currently crossing through Rafah is limited to approximately 300 a day and is subject to Egyptian security clearance that is often withdrawn. The other crossings available to Gaza’s 1.5 million people are with Israel and are closed with few exceptions, such as emergency medical cases. Israel allows goods into Gaza with restrictions on construction materials it says could be used by militants.
In Washington, Jake Sullivan, the State Department’s director of policy planning, said the United States would continue to work with Egyptian authorities on ensuring that weaponry and other material cannot cross the Gaza border.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
