EGYPT: Palestinians Become Hostage to Border Politics

By Adam Morrow Reprint | | Print |

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

CAIRO, Jul 18 2007 (IPS) - Ever since the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip more than a month ago, thousands of Palestinians have been marooned on the Egyptian side of the frontier.

Held hostage to complex border politics – which involve Egypt, Israel and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas – stranded Palestinians continue to languish in the city of El-Arish some 40 kilometres west of the Rafah crossing in the northeast corner of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

“These Palestinians are essentially under siege in El-Arish,” Hatem al-Buluk, human rights activist and El-Arish resident, told IPS. “They can’t cross back into the Gaza Strip or return to Cairo.”

The Rafah border crossing ceased to function on Jun. 9, five days before Hamas wrested control of the Gaza Strip from its U.S.-backed rival Fatah. The closure effectively sealed the last remaining means of entering or exiting the troubled territory, which is home to some 1.5 million people.

The move was reportedly precipitated by the departure of European observers from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing due to rising violence between Hamas and Fatah. The observers, stationed at Rafah under the terms of a 2005 trilateral security arrangement, are mandated to monitor border traffic in and out of the territory.

The sudden closure left an estimated 5,000 Palestinians, many of them patients visiting Cairo for medical treatment, on the Egyptian side with no means of return. Since then, the Egyptian government has shuffled most of them into and around the city of El-Arish, where many are waiting – in relatively inhospitable conditions – for the border to reopen.

“There are only six hotels in the whole city of El-Arish, and these are full to capacity,” said al-Buluk. “Families can be seen sleeping in mosques and public gardens, even on the street.”

In early July, Israel began calling for the use of the Kerem Abu Sallim border crossing, which lies between Egypt and Israel roughly ten kilometres south of Rafah, as an alternative route into the Gaza Strip. Unlike Rafah, authority over the Kerem Abu Sallim crossing is shared exclusively between Egypt and Israel.

But the Hamas government in Gaza – which now controls the Palestinian side of Rafah – staunchly rejected the proposal, arguing it would set a precedent for the eventual replacement of Rafah as the only route in or out of the territory. Hamas also fears that Palestinians forced to reenter via Kerem Abu Sallim, particularly Hamas members, could be subject to arrest or assassination by Israel.

The Rafah crossing has frequently served as a touchstone for border crises in the past. Prior to the latest closure, Israel had unilaterally sealed the border on numerous occasions, particularly since the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian resistance factions in June of last year.

On Jul. 3, Ismail Heniya, the Hamas-affiliated head of the former Palestinian unity government, urged Egypt to reopen Rafah in hopes of bringing an end to the crisis. He went on to state his movement’s total refusal to resort to the Israeli-controlled Kerem Abu Sallim as a substitute crossing.

“Any attempt to transfer passengers from the Rafah crossing to the Kerem Abu Sallim crossing will be seen as a dangerous violation…of Palestinian sovereignty over the Gaza Strip,” Heniya declared in a statement. He went on to say that the move would serve to “consecrate the Israeli siege and subject hundreds of returning citizens to the danger of arrest at the hands of the occupation forces.”

Nevertheless, Cairo – over the protests of Hamas – seconded the Israeli proposal. In a Jul. 10 statement, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit cited the continued absence of EU observers as the chief obstacle to reopening Rafah and recommended that Palestinians stuck in Egypt re-enter via Kerem Abu Sallim.

“There are no monitors on the Egyptian side of Rafah and Hamas is now in control of the Palestinian side,” said Aboul-Gheit. “Therefore, Palestinians hoping to cross to or from Gaza should use Kerem Abu Sallim.”

The next day, as if to reiterate their rejection of the notion, Palestinian resistance factions shelled positions close to Kerem Abu Sallim to forestall its use as an alternative crossing. The attacks were later claimed by the armed wings of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.

Despite repeated calls on Cairo – by both Hamas and the stranded Palestinians themselves – to simply reopen the crossing, government spokesmen have continued to dither.

“The decision to open the Rafah crossing can’t be taken except by a sovereign authority,” one Egyptian diplomatic source was quoted as saying in pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Jul. 11, in a reference to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. “It’s not a simple matter. There are other considerations that must be borne in mind before such a decision can be made.”

According to Gamal Zahran, head of the political science department at Suez Canal University and independent member of parliament, these “other considerations” derive primarily from Cairo’s fear of angering Israel and – by extension – the U.S.

“Israel and the U.S. want to maintain the current siege on Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” he told IPS. “And for this reason, Egypt is keeping the crossing sealed.

“The Rafah crossing is entirely controlled by Egypt, so there’s nothing in international law preventing Cairo from opening it,” Zahran added. “Egypt could open the crossing tomorrow if it wanted, but this would be interpreted as giving support to Hamas.”

It has also been reported in the state press that land in and around El-Arish has been set aside for the erection of “temporary” camps, should a new influx of Palestinians arrive in the wake of anticipated Israeli military incursions into Gaza. This has prompted some speculation that an attempt could be in the offing to permanently settle Palestinians from Gaza in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

In the Jul. 15 edition of opposition weekly al-Arabi al-Nassiri, editor-in-chief Abdullah el-Sinawi warned of the existence of an “Israeli plan” to this effect.

“Israel intends to eventually recommend that Palestinians be settled in Sinai with the ostensible aim of easing the territory’s increasing population density,” el-Sinawi wrote. “And Egypt is aware of this.”

Zahran, however, dismissed the possibility that such a programme could be implemented, referring to the idea as “Zionist delusion”.

“The idea of settling Palestinians in Sinai is an Israeli pipe-dream,” he said. “If Egypt is erecting camps in El-Arish, which will no doubt be temporary, it’s because of Egypt’s national and Arab responsibility towards the Palestinian people.”

Meanwhile, marooned Palestinians are getting impatient. On Jul. 11, thousands of them congregated in the centre of the city to protest their difficult and prolonged state of affairs. “Oh, Mubarak, open the crossing for us,” demonstrators chanted.

The following day, in an effort to maintain control over the situation, Cairo reinforced its official security presence on and around the border. The Jul. 13 edition of independent daily al-Masry al-Youm quoted one official source as saying that 150 new border police had been dispatched to the area, bringing Egypt’s total military frontier presence up to 900 troops.

In a further indication of rising tension, riots broke out on Jul. 17 at the El-Arish airport, where more than 100 Palestinians have languished since the border closure. According to reports in the state press, frustrated Palestinians clashed with Egyptian security personnel, resulting in at least three injuries.

With diminishing patience for international politics, many of the stranded Palestinians simply express a desire to return to home – by any means available.

“Let them open either crossing – Rafah or Kerem Abu Sallim – I don’t care,” said Mohammed Gammar, who was in Egypt seeking medical treatment for his 21-year-old son when the crossing was shut. “We don’t want to die here.”

Others, however, are less ready, despite their long stay in often uncomfortable conditions, to make political concessions.

“We want to go home, but not via Kerem Abu Sallim,” said Ayham Fawaz, a 51-year-old Fatah supporter from Gaza, stranded in El-Arish since the closure. “I would probably be allowed in, but my compatriots from Hamas most likely would not.”