by Hillel Fendel
Egypt is allowing some 1,200 Arabs - including Hamas terrorists - to return to Gaza without having to go through Israeli security - in violation of an explicit agreement between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak just two weeks ago.
Israel says that among the Arabs in question are Hamas terrorists, including many with possibly millions of dollars in cash to be used for Hamas purposes.
Jerusalem Stays Mum
Officials in Jerusalem are said to be "angered," but no official response has been issued. Only MK Aryeh Eldad, of the opposition National Union party, has deigned to respond publicly - and he said that Egypt must be hit in its pocket. Eldad called on Minister Barak to order a total closure on the tourist-popular Taba crossing between Sinai and Israel.
"It could be that Egypt only understands when they are hit in their pocket," Eldad said. "If they see a drop in their tourism income, maybe then they will understand - seeing as they don't seem to understand diplomatic protests and discussion." He said Taba should be closed in both directions until Egypt commits in writing to regulate the passage of Arabs into Gaza according to Israel's security needs.
The story began several days ago, when some 2,300 Arabs from Gaza, among them Hamas terrorists wishing to avoid being arrested by Israeli security forces, attempted to return to Gaza after their hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. At first, Egypt would not let them pass into Gaza through the Egyptian Rafiah checkpoint, and said that they must go through Israel's Kerem Shalom passage.
However, the Arabs, aboard two luxury ferries at a port in the Red Sea between Egypt's Sinai Desert and Saudi Arabia, refused to disembark under those conditions. They spent a weekend on the boats, and were then taken to temporary camps in north Sinai, with the explanation that they were to remain there until a solution could be found.
Arutz-7 reported last week, in the name of Arab sources, that Egypt had already decided to violate its agrement with Israel and let them pass through Rafiah - but it actually happened only yesterday (Wednesday).
Hamas Ecstatic
Hamas diplomatic figure Muhammad Nazal told Hamas TV that the return of the Arabs to Gaza "via Rafiah is the first nail in the coffin of the [Israeli] siege on the Gaza Strip."
An Egyptian official, acknowledging that his country violated its leader's word to Israel, tried to explain why. "We had no other choice," he told the Al-Hayat newspaper, "because we couldn't accept the responsibility of having pilgrims being arrested by Israel." He said that Egypt had tried to negotiate with Israel on the topic, but with no results. "Egypt's leadership was right in enabling them to enter via Rafiah, even though this is in violation of the agreement between Egypt and Israel," the source said.
No Supervision at All as Hamas Builds Army
Israel responded officially with silence, but government-run Voice of Israel Radio reported in the name of a "government figure" that the agreement had totally collapsed. "Egypt is now allowing many terrorists to enter Gaza without supervision," the source said, "as well as arms, large sums of money, and instruction guides in how to prepare terrorist attacks."
Israel has long complained that Egypt is not fulfilling its post-Disengagement obligations to effectively monitor the Rafiah crossing into Gaza. The massive Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, which has been compared to that of an army, has been almost exclusively built up with weapons and materials smuggled through Rafiah and in tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor.
Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni, Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, and Prime Minister Olmert have criticized Egypt's peformance in this regard. Just yesterday (Wednesday), Olmert told visiting US Senators and Congressmen that Israel "expects Egypt to do a better job stopping the smuggling."
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