by Khaled Abu Toameh
By turning a blind eye to the massive smuggling industry, Egypt significantly contributed to transforming the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into a major base for Islamist terrorism, paving the way for the October 7 attack on Israel.
There are also concerns that the tunnels could be used to smuggle terrorists into Gaza.
The Egyptians chose to ignore the smuggling as long as the weapons were making their way into the Gaza Strip and not staying in Egyptian territory. After all, these weapons were being used against Israel, not Egypt. The weapons did not pose any threat to Egypt's national security. In addition, Egyptian military and police officers apparently benefitted by accepting bribes.
By turning a blind eye to the massive smuggling industry, Egypt significantly contributed to transforming the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into a major base for Islamist terrorism, paving the way for the October 7 attack on Israel.
Egypt never did anything to stop Hamas from staging a coup against the Palestinian Authority and seizing control of the Gaza Strip. Egypt failed to stop the flow of weapons into the Gaza Strip. Egypt does not care about the Palestinians or Israel. It only cares about its own interests, and that is why it would be a big mistake to rely on the Egyptians or any Arab state to bring security and stability to the Gaza Strip.
Since the Hamas-Israel war began on October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have discovered an estimated 90 tunnels crossing under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The tunnels have been used by Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups to smuggle rockets and weapons into the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli military sources, there may be additional tunnels that have not been discovered. There are also concerns that the tunnels could be used to smuggle terrorists into Gaza.
The smuggling, which increased after Hamas's violent and brutal takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, took place under the watchful eyes of Egypt, if not with its willing assistance.
The Egyptians chose to ignore the smuggling as long as the weapons were making their way into the Gaza Strip and not staying in Egyptian territory. After all, these weapons were being used against Israel, not Egypt. The weapons did not pose any threat to Egypt's national security. In addition, Egyptian military and police officers apparently benefitted by accepting bribes.
"The feeling in Jerusalem is that Egypt is ungrateful," said Yoni Ben Menachem, Middle East intelligence analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, in September 2024.
"Now it turns out the Egyptians have been playing a double game. They've been letting Hamas smuggle weapons for many years, especially after [Egyptian President] Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power."
"Israel helped Egypt in its campaign against the Islamic State [ISIS] in Sinai," noted David Isaac, an expert on Jewish history, politics, and current events at Jewish News Syndicate.
"It allowed Cairo to double its forces in the peninsula, far more than allowed by the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. Israel even conducted bombing raids against the Islamic State at Egypt's request. In 2014, Israel intervened on behalf of Egypt with the U.S. to ensure American aid continued."
Shortly after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of Israel, the IDF confirmed that the Palestinian terror group smuggled weapons and ammunition through tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border in the run-up to its massacre of 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals.
By turning a blind eye to the massive smuggling industry, Egypt significantly contributed to transforming the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into a major base for Islamist terrorism, paving the way for the October 7 attack on Israel.
The idea that placing the Gaza Strip under Egypt's control would change the situation is simply unrealistic. Egypt, which ruled the Gaza Strip from 1948 until 1967, never wanted the Gaza Strip back, mainly because Cairo did not want to become responsible for the Palestinians living there. Egypt, in addition, did not want to be seen as meddling in the internal affairs of the Palestinians and having to face the challenge of confronting various armed groups inside the Gaza Strip.
Recently, the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported that the Trump administration and Israel have reached agreement on a plan that would "encompass four Arab nations (including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates) to administer the Gaza Strip" after the end of the war.
In the past, Egypt rejected any proposal for it to administer the Gaza Strip. Earlier this year, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said:
"[A]ny proposals that circumvent the constants of the Egyptian and Arab position, and the sound foundations for addressing the core of the conflict, which relate to Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian Territories and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, are rejected and unacceptable, as they represent half-solutions that contribute to the recurrence of the conflict cycles rather than resolving it permanently."
"Egypt's rejection of the proposal is rooted in multiple concerns, with national security being the most critical," wrote Egyptian journalist Abdellatif El-Menawy.
"Cairo fears that assuming control of Gaza would create a significant security burden, particularly given the complex internal dynamics of the enclave and the presence of armed factions outside the control of the Palestinian Authority. If Egypt were to take administrative responsibility, it might find itself in direct confrontation with resistance groups, leading to unwanted conflicts that could destabilize Egypt's internal security."
Egypt has good reason to be worried about its national security. According to Israeli security sources, ISIS terrorists fighting against the Egyptian army in Sinai have cooperated militarily with Hamas. The sources revealed that Hamas's military wing had been paying the ISIS terrorists in Egypt to secure weapons shipments being smuggled through Sinai into the Gaza Strip.
The smuggling industry flourished after the IDF in 2005 withdrew from the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land situated along the entirety of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. After the withdrawal, Israel and Egypt signed an agreement that authorized the Egyptians to deploy border guards along the route to prevent smuggling of weapons from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. The Egyptians, needless to say, did not fully comply with the agreement.
Meanwhile, European Union monitors stationed at the Rafah Border Crossing, as part of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel, suspended their operations after Hamas's 2007 takeover of the Gaza Strip. If the PA and the EU monitors ran away from the Gaza Strip, there is reason to believe that Egypt would follow suit if it were put in charge. Even if Egypt accepts the alleged Trump plan, it would be doing so only to appease the US and receive more financial aid from the Americans. Once the Trump administration is gone or Palestinians start protesting against Egypt, the Egyptians will leave the Gaza Strip.
Egypt never did anything to stop Hamas from staging a coup against the Palestinian Authority and seizing control of the Gaza Strip. Egypt failed to stop the flow of weapons into the Gaza Strip. Egypt does not care about the Palestinians or Israel. It only cares about its own interests, and that is why it would be a big mistake to rely on the Egyptians or any Arab state to bring security and stability to the Gaza Strip.
- Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21732/gaza-security-egypt
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