GAZA
– On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said that Israel must fully take control of the
Philadelphi Route, also
referred to as Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and
Gaza to ensure disarmament in the area, Khaberni reported.
اضافة اعلان
Netanyahu
added in a press conference, “
Philadelphi Route, or more precisely the southern stopping point in Gaza,
must be under our control. It must be closed. Any other arrangement will not guarantee the disarmament we seek.”
So what is the Philadelphia Route?The
Philadelphia Corridor is located
between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is 14 km long, extending from the
Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Karam Abu Salem Crossing in the south,
and is located within a demilitarized zone under the Camp David Accords between
Egypt and Israel in 1979.
Under
the
Camp David Accords, this route is a demilitarized zone that was under
Israeli control before they withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The agreement
came after the Knesset approved a one-sided decision in 2004 to withdraw all
Israeli forces from Gaza, which was implemented in August 2005.
In
the same year, Israel signed with Egypt a protocol that did not cancel or amend
the peace agreement but limited the military
presence of both sides in that area.
After
two years, Hamas took control of the
Philadelphia route. And ever since, Egypt
has tightened its security grip on its border with Gaza.
What do the Camp David Accords
entail?
The
agreement allows Israeli presence within the Philadelphia Route, which is
located in Zone “D” under the First Annex, the Israeli Withdrawal Protocol and
Security Arrangements, which allows for limited
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
presence of four infantry battalions, field fortifications, and UN observers.
The
IOF does not include any tanks, artillery or missiles except for land-to-air
missiles. The IOF in this area can have up to 180 military vehicles and a total
of no more than 4,000 infantries.
In
Zone “J” of the agreement, the presence of
UN forces and Egyptian civilian police is allowed. In Zone “B”, Egyptian border units of four battalions
equipped with light weapons are allowed. Zone “A” has military forces from an
infantry brigade, an armored brigade, and artillery battalions totaling no more
than 22,000 Egyptian soldiers.
The
IOFs controlled Zone “D”, including the Philadelphia Route, until their
withdrawal and handover to the Palestinian Authority in 2005. A new agreement
called the “Philadelphia Agreement” was signed to arrange for the presence of
Egyptian border guards.
The
agreement allowed for Israeli-Egyptian security coordination. The agreement
also specified that the Egyptian presence in this area is “to combat terrorism
and infiltration across the border” and is not intended for any military
purpose. While maintaining Zone “J” as a demilitarized zone.
750
members of the Egyptian forces patrol the border armed with light weapons and
armored vehicles, in addition to an unspecified number of unarmed police
officers.
The
Camp David Accords also allowed the division of the city of Rafah into two
parts. Israel erected a wall of concrete and metal seven kilometers long and
eight meters high to isolate the two divisions.
In
November 2005, Israel signed an agreement with the Palestinian Authority to
regulate movement, including the Rafah crossing that connects Egypt and Gaza.
The agreement indicated that the Rafah crossing would be operated by the
Palestinian Authority on its side and by Egypt on its side by international standards and laws.
The
Rafah Crossing is for Palestinian ID holders, with prior notification to the
IOF and approvals from the Palestinian authorities, provided that the
Palestinian Authority works to prevent the crossing of weapons or explosives
and continues security coordination services.
Since
November 2005, the Rafah Crossing has been managed under the
Palestinian-Israeli agreement. They deployed about 90 European observers to
assist in border monitoring, but these observers left in June 2014.
Why does Israel want to control the
Philadelphia Route?
An
analysis published by the Israeli channel “I24NEWS” indicated that the Israeli
army’s move towards the Philadelphia Routes aims to separate the Gaza Strip
from the Sinai Desert and Egypt.
While
the IOF’s move towards the axis aims to separate the Gaza Strip from the Sinai
Desert and Egypt, Israel seeks to secure its southern borders to prevent it
from becoming a crossing for Palestinian factions to obtain weapons, which
requires continued cooperation with Egypt.
If
Netanyahu’s plan is accomplished, such a move would represent a de facto
reversal of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, putting the strip under
exclusive Israeli control.
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