MIDEAST: Disputes Arise Over Passage to Peace

By Adam Morrow Reprint | | Print |

Adam Morrow

CAIRO, Jun 27 2005 (IPS) - Less than two months before Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Cairo and Tel Aviv are still hashing out security arrangements that will govern the so-called ‘Philadelphi Corridor’, the 13km long border road between Egypt and Israel.

While Egyptian and Palestinian negotiators are hoping for total Israeli withdrawal from the area, Israeli officials have insisted that control of the corridor be retained until Egypt can adequately prevent alleged cross-border weapons smuggling into the Palestinian territories.

"Israel will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor until it feels that arms smuggling and terrorism will stop," Israeli ambassador to Egypt Shalom Cohen told reporters.

On Jun. 15, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman visited Jerusalem where he met with Sharon and Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalom to discuss post-withdrawal security arrangements, with the border issue high on the agenda.

According to press reports, the meeting yielded an agreement in principle that would allow Egypt to deploy a military presence along the length of the border. The Jun. 16 edition of independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm cited a diplomatic source as saying that the two sides discussed "arrangements for the Gaza withdrawal and the deployment of 750 Egyptian border guards along the…Philadelphi axis."

Emad Gad, an expert on Israeli affairs at the state-run Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, confirmed that the two sides had reached "an understanding" – as opposed to a formal agreement – allowing for the deployment of Egyptian troops on the border, which is considered a demilitarised zone under the 1979 Camp David peace agreement between the two countries.

While there had been some talk that the move might require alterations to the peace agreement, Gad pointed out that the proposed number of border guards – he confirmed the 750 figure – is allowable under the agreement’s current form. "It’s the maximum number allowed under the treaty," he said. "More than this would have entailed changes to the articles of the agreement."

Israel meanwhile has continued to express its discomfort with alleged weapons smuggling, which it fears Egyptian border security will be unable to curtail. "Arms smuggling (from Egypt to the Gaza Strip) is still going on," ambassador Cohen told reporters a day before Suleiman’s visit. "Israel would like to see this stop."

Cohen also reiterated Israel’s intention to implement the withdrawal as scheduled, whether or not a firm agreement was reached with Egypt vis-à-vis border security. "The fact that Israel will withdraw has nothing to do with the agreement with Egypt over the Philadelphi road," he said. "There is no connection between them – Israel will withdraw from the Gaza Strip in any case." He added, "Something will eventually be worked out, but not necessarily before the disengagement."

According to Gad, Egyptian negotiators rejected Tel Aviv’s initial desire to retain control of the border, insisting instead on complete withdrawal. "It’s a sensitive issue for the Israelis, who claim that Egypt doesn’t do enough to control arms smuggling across the border," said Gad. "But if the area stays in Israeli hands, the potential will remain for more Palestinian-Israeli clashes. It would also pose a major problem for Egyptian diplomacy. After all, it’s Egypt’s border – there is no room there for Israeli soldiers."

As for the wider ‘peace process’, Tel Aviv maintains that the upcoming withdrawal – and the recent understanding with Egypt on border security – is not part of the ‘roadmap’ peace plan, which was formulated by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, and is aimed at a final, two-state resolution of the conflict.

"The withdrawal is not part of the roadmap. Prime Minister Sharon was very clear on that," said Cohen.. "The Gaza withdrawal will be unilateral. If the Palestinians work on certain conditions (like disarming militant organizations) Israel will enter into the roadmap. But the withdrawal is separate from that."

Some observers point out that Israeli unilateralism is aimed specifically at circumventing direct talks, which they fear could lead to the possibility of future concessions. "The Israelis want to avoid negotiating directly with the Palestinians for as long as possible," said Simon kitchen, a Middle East analyst at the New York-based political risk consultancy, the Eurasia Group.. "They’re willing to talk to them on little technical issues like security, whereas the ‘roadmap’ leads to the discussion of big final-status issues, like settlements and Jerusalem."

That the unenviable responsibility for the Palestine file falls within the mandate of the Egyptian intelligence apparatus, rather than the foreign ministry, is indicative of its sensitivity. "The withdrawal is an intelligence issue," said one foreign ministry source. "We’re not really negotiating this."

According to Gad, the assignment of the Palestine dossier to Suleiman’s intelligence services was an executive decision. The decision, he said, was partly explained by Suleiman’s "good connections with both the Palestinian factions and the Israeli side."