The wall will address a symptom not the root cause, says expert
CAIRO: An Israeli army publication has reported on Israeli plans to build a security fence along the porous border with Egypt, which is frequently penetrated to smuggle arms and people.
According to Associated Press, the weekly Israeli magazine for soldiers Bamahane stated that the fence would be equipped with sensors to detect infiltration.
Although the magazine did not give any indication of when this plan is set to be implemented, it quoted a commander of the engineering corps, Colonel Eitan Yitzhak as saying, “We must make sure that we have the means to prevent terror attacks like the one that took place in Eilat.
This was in reference to the January bombing in the southern Israeli town of Eilat where a Palestinian suicide bomber entered Egypt from Gaza, presumably through one of the many hidden tunnels permeating the border, and re-entered into Eilat, killing three Israelis.
“This [the wall] was an Israeli idea expressed some time ago, security and military expert at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Ahmed Ibrahim told The Daily Star Egypt, “but this is something that needs to be agreed on by all sides involved, and that includes Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. And Egypt does not welcome the idea.
“It will also reawaken the notion of separatism and racism that the wall built in the West Bank brought up, and these are not ideas you would want to encourage, Ibrahim added.
The news comes as the European Union plans to reduce the number of monitors on the Rafah-Egypt crossing. As the border has been closed since June 9, the EU intends to cut down on the 87 monitors currently at the crossing because it is unclear when and if the border will be reopened.
An EU spokeswoman said, “We are not foreseeing a return to normalcy. We are maintaining … our full operational capabilities in case the border is reopened.
The EU did not state how many monitors would be sent back but promised that there would be enough on standby in case the border eventually does reopen.
Egypt’s security delegation, which was withdrawn from Gaza after clashes between Palestinians saw Hamas take over the Gaza Strip, is scheduled to head back next week according to Arab League Assistant Secretary General Mohammed Sobeih.
Sobeih, who is in charge of the Palestinian file at the Arab League, told the Egyptian Al-Gomhuria newspaper that the delegation aims to pave the way for future inter-Palestinian talks in Cairo.
Assistant Foreign Minister Hany Khalaf told the same paper, “Egypt has received assurances from all parties that they will cooperate with the delegation, and that “preparations are underway for a meeting between both movements soon.
The border between Egypt and Israel measures 135 miles, but it is the 10-mile stretch which constitutes the Gaza-Egypt border which is the cause of concern for both Egypt and Israel. This is due to the many arms caches and secret tunnels often discovered there.
“The wall will not solve the security issue because the arms smuggling occurs through the tunnels below the border, Ibrahim said.
“The solution is in the political process, he added, “and a real peace settlement. That is a better idea. This wall is addressing a symptom and not the root cause, which is the freezing of the peace process.
