From a comment by Laura S. at Volokh:Yes. Israel takes a lot of flak for keeping the border with Gaza closed. Ergo, one might reasonably ask why Egypt gets away with keeping its border closed too. Especially in light of the fact that the residents of Gaza have a history of making war against Israel but not Egypt.
I agree. It is an increasingly reasonable question.
Egypt certainly could be playing an important role in alleviating the day-to-day distress and suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza. It may not help bring us closer to a genuine, long-term solution, but it sure wouldn't hurt.
- Garry J. Wise, Toronto
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I thought I read that the Egyptian border is closed at the request of Israel or something like that. I'm going to confirm.
ReplyDeleteIn 2005, when Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt reached a military agreement regarding the border, based on the principles of the 1979 peace treaty. The agreement specified that 750 Egyptian border guards would be deployed along the length of the border, and both Egypt and Israel pledged to work together to stem terrorism, arms smuggling, and other illegal cross-border activities. The wall itself was built by Israel.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, hello Pseudo. It's been a while since we've seen you here.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I really prefer to avoid writing on the Israel/Palestinian question is that discussion invariably turns into a debate about history as opposed to the future.
In what is essentially a timeless and endless battle over the world's most prized real estate, the historical analysis alwsys seems to depend on what date one utililzes as a starting point. Almost inevitably, the "day before" any such starting point had a diffferent status quo.
As an example, the Volokh post that I found the commment in takes a somewhat longer view than you:
------quote:----------------------
"Gaza and Egypt:
Sixty years ago, when Egypt occupied Gaza, it refused to grant the local Arab residents, native Gazans and refugees from the Arab-Israeli war of 1947-48, citizenship. Instead, the Egyptian government intentionally cut them off from Egypt and kept them impoverished, so they could be used as a propaganda and military weapon against Israel. When Israel took over Gaza in 1967, it opened the border with Israel, providing tens of thousands of jobs for Gazans, and increasing the standard of living there dramatically, albeit from very low levels. After a wave of suicide attacks from Gaza, Israel gradually closed off the border with Israel, and finally closed it off entirely when Hamas took over last year. Meanwhile, Israel no longer occupies Gaza, and the population has sunken back into abject poverty.
With the Gazan's breach of the border with Egypt, and Egypt's refusal to use force to seal the border, things have come full circle. It's time to ask why Egypt, with 80 million people, can't grant Gaza's one million full Egyptian citizenship, and allow them to live in Sinai or even Cairo instead of being stuck in Gaza."
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Even still, the writer's use of a dateline only 60 years ago, rather than 600 or 6000 years ago does little justice to this ancient quagmire.
Looking forward, yes, there is an enormous role to be played by all Middle Eastern countries in achieving peace and in alleviating Palestinian suffering.
The wall breach underlines the reality that Palestinian economic dependence on Israel's political whims du jour is no longer (and need no longer be)the sole option.
There are other players in the region. It is time they did their part. That does not imply any diminished role for Israel. It simply acknowledges the roles and responsibility of all for the tragedy that is continuously unfolding in their midst.