A
Archangel
Guest
An editorial in the New York paper of that name sees an opportunity in the
recent Gaza-Egypt border breach. The paper suggests tearing down the wall
altogether:
Rather than forcing the Gazan Arabs to join with the West Bank Arabs
into a state of "Palestine" that has never before existed and has few of
the elements of a successful nation-state, why not let Gaza revert to its
pre-1967 status as part of Egypt? Egypt, at least is a country with which
Israel has a peace treaty and diplomatic relations, which is more than can
be said for the Hamas terrorist organization that now controls Gaza.
Were Gaza to become an Egyptian responsibility, Israel would no longer
be reduced to complaining about arms smuggling across the Gaza-Egypt
border. It could hold Egypt directly responsible for the rocket attacks on
the Israeli city of Sderot, and America could use its $1.8 billion a year
in aid to Egypt as leverage to demand the cessation of the attacks. If the
plan of letting Gaza merge into Egypt works, it could be a model for
allowing Jordan, another country with which Israel has a treaty of peace,
to accept responsibility for parts of the West Bank. In the crisis along
the Egypt-Gaza border could lie the seeds of a just resolution to the
so-called Palestinian question.
The Jerusalem Post's Yaakov Katz argues that "without even knowing it,
Egypt helped Israel on Wednesday to complete the disengagement from the
Gaza Strip":
While the 2005 withdrawal included the evacuation of Israeli military
personnel and settlers from the Palestinian territory, Israel and Gaza have
remained interlocked ever since due to the Palestinian dependency on Israel
for electricity, food, medical supplies and fuel. . . .
While Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he opened the crossing for
Gazans since they were "starving due to the Israeli siege," what he did
proved to the world that his country is perfectly capable of caring for the
Palestinians when it comes to food and medical care.
The New York Times reports that some Israel officials are thinking along
similar lines:
A senior Israeli official, refusing to give his name because the
minister who heads his department is away, said the development might solve
a problem.
"This may be a blessing in disguise," he said. "On the level of
smuggling, weapons and so on, it makes no difference. But if it continues
like this, it will ease tremendously the pressure on Israel on the
humanitarian level. The humanitarian organizations will get off our backs.
There won't be any shortages. So that is a good thing. We don't care if
people buy food in Egypt. And terrorists come in anyway.
"Second--there's a notion that Barak believes in--and I think Sharon
did too--of getting out of Gaza, and throwing away the keys," he said,
referring to Defense Minister and former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
We must say, we like the idea of an Egypt-Gaza reunion, though Egyptian
officials are throwing cold water on it, according to the Jerusalem Post:
A top Egyptian official said Thursday that Egypt's border with Gaza
will go back to normal, and strongly rejected the idea--floated by
Jerusalem--that Israel might relinquish all responsibility for the troubled
Gaza Strip.
"This is a wrong assumption," Hossam Zaki, the official spokesman for
Egypt's foreign ministry, said of Israeli hints that it was thinking of
giving up all responsibility for Gaza, including supplying electricity, now
that the territory's southern border with Egypt is open. . . .
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak instructed his forces at the border to
detain any Palestinian who illegally crossed the border. . . .
Mubarak said that while Egypt would not let them starve, the
Palestinian factions must consider the suffering of the Palestinian people
above all.
The Egyptian president urged the Palestinians not to involve Egypt in
their internal disputes, Israel Radio reported.
This is of a piece with Arab dictators' attitude toward the Palestinians
more generally, which is that it is best to keep them in "refugee camps" so
that they may continue to serve as a tool to cudgel Israel--and to draw
attention away from the Arab dictators' own misrule.
Archangel
recent Gaza-Egypt border breach. The paper suggests tearing down the wall
altogether:
Rather than forcing the Gazan Arabs to join with the West Bank Arabs
into a state of "Palestine" that has never before existed and has few of
the elements of a successful nation-state, why not let Gaza revert to its
pre-1967 status as part of Egypt? Egypt, at least is a country with which
Israel has a peace treaty and diplomatic relations, which is more than can
be said for the Hamas terrorist organization that now controls Gaza.
Were Gaza to become an Egyptian responsibility, Israel would no longer
be reduced to complaining about arms smuggling across the Gaza-Egypt
border. It could hold Egypt directly responsible for the rocket attacks on
the Israeli city of Sderot, and America could use its $1.8 billion a year
in aid to Egypt as leverage to demand the cessation of the attacks. If the
plan of letting Gaza merge into Egypt works, it could be a model for
allowing Jordan, another country with which Israel has a treaty of peace,
to accept responsibility for parts of the West Bank. In the crisis along
the Egypt-Gaza border could lie the seeds of a just resolution to the
so-called Palestinian question.
The Jerusalem Post's Yaakov Katz argues that "without even knowing it,
Egypt helped Israel on Wednesday to complete the disengagement from the
Gaza Strip":
While the 2005 withdrawal included the evacuation of Israeli military
personnel and settlers from the Palestinian territory, Israel and Gaza have
remained interlocked ever since due to the Palestinian dependency on Israel
for electricity, food, medical supplies and fuel. . . .
While Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he opened the crossing for
Gazans since they were "starving due to the Israeli siege," what he did
proved to the world that his country is perfectly capable of caring for the
Palestinians when it comes to food and medical care.
The New York Times reports that some Israel officials are thinking along
similar lines:
A senior Israeli official, refusing to give his name because the
minister who heads his department is away, said the development might solve
a problem.
"This may be a blessing in disguise," he said. "On the level of
smuggling, weapons and so on, it makes no difference. But if it continues
like this, it will ease tremendously the pressure on Israel on the
humanitarian level. The humanitarian organizations will get off our backs.
There won't be any shortages. So that is a good thing. We don't care if
people buy food in Egypt. And terrorists come in anyway.
"Second--there's a notion that Barak believes in--and I think Sharon
did too--of getting out of Gaza, and throwing away the keys," he said,
referring to Defense Minister and former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
We must say, we like the idea of an Egypt-Gaza reunion, though Egyptian
officials are throwing cold water on it, according to the Jerusalem Post:
A top Egyptian official said Thursday that Egypt's border with Gaza
will go back to normal, and strongly rejected the idea--floated by
Jerusalem--that Israel might relinquish all responsibility for the troubled
Gaza Strip.
"This is a wrong assumption," Hossam Zaki, the official spokesman for
Egypt's foreign ministry, said of Israeli hints that it was thinking of
giving up all responsibility for Gaza, including supplying electricity, now
that the territory's southern border with Egypt is open. . . .
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak instructed his forces at the border to
detain any Palestinian who illegally crossed the border. . . .
Mubarak said that while Egypt would not let them starve, the
Palestinian factions must consider the suffering of the Palestinian people
above all.
The Egyptian president urged the Palestinians not to involve Egypt in
their internal disputes, Israel Radio reported.
This is of a piece with Arab dictators' attitude toward the Palestinians
more generally, which is that it is best to keep them in "refugee camps" so
that they may continue to serve as a tool to cudgel Israel--and to draw
attention away from the Arab dictators' own misrule.
Archangel