Egypt Opens Crossing So Palestinians Can Return
Egypt opened its main crossing into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday to allow more than 2,000 Palestinian pilgrims — including at least one official of the armed Hamas movement — to return to their homes there, outraging Israel in a growing dispute over border security.The return followed a month of increasingly bitter words between the two neighbors over Egypt’s policing of its border with Gaza, which Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni last month described as “terrible.”
The friction between the two long-standing partners in U.S.-brokered peace deals comes as President Bush prepares to visit the region next week with a goal of smoothing the way for further peace accords.
Egypt Permits Pilgrims to Cross Back Into Gaza
The Palestinians traveled to Saudi Arabia last month for the annual Muslim pilgrimage under the aegis of Hamas. Israel had demanded that they travel back to the Gaza Strip via an Israeli-controlled border crossing, Kerem Shalom, where they could undergo Israeli security checks. But Hamas refused to send the pilgrims back through Kerem Shalom, saying that its supporters could be arrested by Israel.Israeli officials suspect that some of the pilgrims brought back large sums of money and other contraband for Hamas. Israel, like the United States and the European Union, defines Hamas as a terrorist organization.
“If people are returning to Gaza without going through the required security procedures,†an Israeli government official said, “then that would be contrary to the understandings reached.†The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to exacerbate tensions between Egypt and Israel.
Another Israeli official said that Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt had decided that the pilgrims would return via Kerem Shalom at a meeting on Dec. 26 in a Sinai resort.
In addition to undermining Israeli security, Backspin observes (from the NYT report) that the Egyptian action also undermines Mahmoud Abbas.
Not unrelated to Egypt’s perfidious behavior Contentions.Eric Trager notes that it is occurring as Egypt is cozying up to Iran. However he notes hopefully
Of course, with President Bush set to touch down in Israel and the Palestinian territories next week, mending Israeli-Egyptian relations is the last thing with which the administration hoped to be dealing. Yet much of what Bush hopes to accomplish in the Middle East before leaving office—particularly Israeli-Palestinian peace and Iranian isolation—depends on keeping this relationship stable. The good news is that Bush will also visit Cairo. Asking the Mubarak regime to explain its recent tryst with Iran should top that agenda.
That hasn’t been the president’s MO lately. More likely he’ll turn a blind eye. While it’s nice to see that President Bush will show some principle by not visiting Arafat’s tomb, he still continues to differentiate between Hamas and Fatah, though substantively there’s no real difference between the two.
Peace in the Middle East means never having to place blame on the Arabs.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
