Egypt rejected a proposal the Israeli government made to resume the Gaza Strip’s border crossing, which connects the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.
According to reports, Israel sent two officers from its Shin Bet protection services on Wednesday to provide the plan, which was apparently designed to allow people requiring health support to travel to Gaza from Egypt and to the opposite direction while taking into account Israel’s security concerns.
The plan also reportedly described how the Rafah cross may be governed after Israel finished its military exercises in Gaza and retreated from the area. Israel reportedly suggested a more complicated mechanism while Egypt claimed that the border crossing may be entirely under Israeli control.
Long before Israel launched its military assault on the area of Rafah, the ultimate haven for Hamas extremists in Gaza, the Rafah boundary crossing was a source of international outcry. The Israelis worry that Hamas leaders may use the crossing to flee or take in more arms for their combatants, while the Egyptians have been concerned about a flood of Palestinian refugees pouring across the frontier. In order for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, the UN has pleaded for the passing to be available.
On May 9, 2024, displaced Palestinians ‘ houses were located on the outskirts of Rafah, Gaza, next to the border fence with Egypt. ( Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images )
Egypt accuses Israel of attempting to force Palestinians to leave Gaza and bring them into Egypt as migrants by blocking access to the Rafah crossing during their military activity.
The Israelis claim that their military procedure does not prevent them from using the border for humanitarian assistance and responsible Egypt for keeping it closed. Israeli leaders expressed sorrow that Egypt rejected their most recent request to resume the boundary on Wednesday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated on Tuesday that he had asked Germany and the United Kingdom to “persuade” Egypt to resume the Rafah passing.
The responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza lies with Israel, he said, but our Egyptian companions then hold the key to preventing one, he said.
Sameh Shoukry, the country’s foreign minister, reacted inquisitively by saying that Israel is” only responsible for the humanitarian crisis that the Palestinians in Gaza are now enduring as a result of the “indiscriminate Jewish crimes committed against the Palestinians for more than seven times.”
Shoukry claimed that Israel has a “legal role as the invading power” by allowing support to enter through the land slots under its control, but he did not explain why Egypt turned down an Israeli plan to do so.
In light of Egypt’s inability to cooperate with Israel at this stage of the Gaza military operation, Shoukry’s response suggests that Palestinian politics are at play.
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Egypt’s statement on Sunday, which was a clear sign of deteriorating relations, stated that it would support South Africa’s genocide against Israel before the International Court of Justice ( ICJ). According to Al Jazeera News on Thursday, Egypt viewed Israel’s insistence on continuing the Rafah operation as “disrespectful”, and joining the ICJ genocide case was a means of signaling Cairo’s exasperation.
” This is n’t just about pressuring Israel. It’s also about pressuring the U. S. to use its leverage towards Israel”, Egypt scholar and former Texas A&, M professor Erin A. Snyder told Al Jazeera.
Egypt’s refusal to reopen the Rafah crossing smelt bad on the Biden White House. A clearly puzzled Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre could not explain why the Egyptians would not allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza when a reporter inquired about the White House’s response to the request.
