Israel’s Claim of Control Over Border Zone Risks Raising Tensions With Egypt
Egypt remains quiet about Israeli troops taking a strip of land on its border with Gaza.
Earlier this year, the Egyptian government warned that if Israeli forces occupied a roughly eight-mile-long border strip between Egypt and Gaza — known in Israel as the Philadelphi Corridor — it would pose a “serious threat” to ties between the two countries. Yet so far there has been little Egyptian response to Israel’s announcement on Wednesday that it had taken “tactical control” of the zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Israel and Egypt — former enemies that fought at least three major wars — have clashed diplomatically over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, and particularly over Israel’s ground offensive in Rafah. The Egyptian government faced public pressure to take a tougher stance against Israel after Israeli troops entered Rafah, which borders Egypt and is packed with Gazans fleeing the fighting elsewhere.
But the Egyptian and Israeli authorities have long coordinated closely on security matters, with military officials regularly meeting in Cairo and Tel Aviv, and both sides view that close-knit relationship as a cornerstone of their national security policies, former Israeli and Egyptian officials say.
That makes it appear unlikely the Egyptian government will take substantial steps against Israel over the seizing of the Philadelphi corridor, these experts say.
“The security people will keep talking to the security people, the border will manage jointly, and the communication continues,” said Ezzedine Fishere, a former Egyptian diplomat. “Both sides know that it’s in their interest.”
Israeli military officials say their forces pushed into the corridor to crack down on Hamas’s ability to rearm itself by smuggling munitions into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt.
But ties between the two countries put under considerable strain in recent weeks. In early May, Israel captured the Gazan side on the Rafah crossing into Egypt. Since then, Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian officials have wrangled over how to reopen the crossing — a major gateway for humanitarian assistance — but it remains shuttered.
Mr. Fishere said the prospect of Israeli forces conducting intense military operations on the edge of its border with Egypt has worried Egyptian and Israeli officials, who prefer to keep their militaries as separate as possible.
On Monday, at least one Egyptian soldier was killed in a shooting incident with Israeli forces near the Rafah crossing; both sides say they are investigating the matter.
The government in Cairo has been seeking to move beyond the incident as much as possible, Mr. Fishere said, and has instructed the country’s tightly controlled media to pay it down. “Anything that comes from Israel hits a nerve in public opinion,” said Mr. Fishere. “But it has no bearing over the bilateral relationship.”
Eli Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador to Cairo, said one of Egypt’s biggest concerns was that Israeli military action might lead Gazans to flood across the border. As long as that prospect remains distant, whatever discontent Israel’s operations in the Philadelphi Corridor stirs can likely manage, Mr. Shaked say.
“Both Israel and Egypt understand their true interests,” he said. “There’s tension, disappointment and frustrations on both sides — but they are trying to keep those under the table.”
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