Israeli-Egyptian Agreement on
Gaza Border Following Disengagement
(September 1, 2005)
A new agreement has been
reached between Israel and Egypt that
allows Egypt to deploy 750 on the Egyptian
border with the Gaza
Strip. This accord, signed by the two
parties in Cairo,
Egypt on September 1, will help to ensure
that weapons are not smuggled to terrorists
in the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The Knesset approved
the deal Wednesday in a 53-28 vote. This
agreement overturns a clause in the 1979
peace agreement between Israel and Egypt stating
that the border between Egypt and Gaza would
be a demilitarized zone. To avoid violating
the Israel-Egyptian peace treaty, Egypt will
not deploy tanks or construct permanent military
installations on the border. Mubarak said
that he would not move to deploy troops until
Israel has completely withdrawn from the
area. Israel has said it will eventually
leave the zone and is set to withdraw in
October.
A preliminary agreement was
reached between Israeli Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz and Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak in March 2005, which stated that
Egypt would agree to patrol the "Philadelphi Route" along
its border with Gaza. An agreement has not
yet been reached as to whether Israel will
be allowed to monitor customs on goods and
people coming into Gaza. In addition to this,
it was agreed that a third party transfer
the rubble of settlers' homes to Egypt, while
Israel would take on the task of burying
toxic substances inside its borders.
Now that Israel has evacuated
all of its settlers from
the Gaza Strip, security is the main concern.
Israel is due to start constructing a new
border-crossing terminal at Kerem Shalom
on the Israel-Egypt-Gaza border next week,
despite opposition from Egypt and the Palestinian
Authority. Israel wants the entry from
Egypt into the Gaza Strip to be via the Kerem
Shalom terminal to ease the process of monitoring
customs. It is threatening to exclude Gaza
from the customs union with Israel and the West Bank if
the Palestinians insist
on running the terminal on their own.
Sources: Ha'aretz,
Ynetnews.com |