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For weeks, talk show hosts and newspaper columnists in Egypt’s government-run media have been saying in unison: Any Israeli “occupation” of the Philadelphia Corridor, the buffer zone on the Egypt-Gaza border, could constitute a violation of Egyptian and national sovereignty. . It would further undermine Israel’s military offensive in southern Gaza and push relations between the two countries to their lowest point in decades.
But when the Israeli military said last week it had seized “tactical control” of the corridor, the same government mouthpiece was quick to say the border area had nothing to do with Egypt; sovereignty was not mentioned.
It is the latest sign that Cairo remains protective of its ties with Israel, which have produced valuable military and intelligence cooperation in the fight against Egypt’s rebels, as well as billions of dollars in U.S. aid and natural gas imports from Israel.
For Israel, the so-called “cold peace” with Egypt that has lasted for more than four decades has also proven to be an important pillar of national security. The alliance offers Israel a path to improved relations with its Muslim neighbors, paving the way for normalization of relations with more countries and making it increasingly an integral part of the region’s anti-Iran axis.
Still, Israel risks upsetting the delicate balance as it says it needs to control the Philadelphia corridor and destroy dozens of tunnels under the border, which it says enable Hamas to smuggle weapons into the strip – even as Egypt admits it Weapons have been brought into the zone.
Israeli military advances into southern Gaza and the city of Rafah in recent weeks have put severe strains on relations between the two countries, raising questions about how far Israel will insist on full control of the border areas and how far it will go. border zone.
As Egypt has repeatedly shown, Egypt’s patience with Israeli military actions is wearing thin. The government is not only alarmed by the prospect of Gazans fleeing Rafah across the border into Egypt, but is also determined to show the public that it is confronting Israel, even though 45 years later, most Egyptians still view Israel as an enemy. .
Cairo has registered to speak in support of South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. It also warned that Israel was jeopardizing the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, which stems from the so-called Camp David Accords.
While Egypt has condemned Israel for cutting off humanitarian aid to Gaza, Egypt itself has temporarily blocked aid trucks from leaving its territory, where much of the aid is concentrated before being shipped to the Palestinian strip, in an attempt to force Israel from the Rafah crossing Withdrawal. The border point was a main conduit for aid and other supplies during the war between Egypt and Gaza but was recently occupied by Israel, sparking public outrage in Egypt.
Egypt did not respond to Israel’s move with more severe measures, such as withdrawing its ambassador from Tel Aviv. Government-run news media appear to have been helping to limit public outrage.
Well-known talk show host Ahmed Moussa wrote in a column in Egypt’s flagship daily Al-Ahram that Egypt “is ready to deal with all situations and will never allow any direct or indirect violation of its sovereignty and national security” “Behavior” newspaper, May 17.
However, when Israel seized the corridor last Wednesday, Mr Moussa went on the air to lash out at social media users who said Egypt looked weak by allowing the seizure. He linked such “allegations” to the Muslim Brotherhood, the political Islamist group that Egypt has long demonized as a terrorist group and of which Hamas is an offshoot.
“The Philadelphia Corridor is not Egyptian territory,” Moussa insisted in a nine-minute segment dedicated to the issue, showing him a giant map. “This is Palestinian territory. It does not belong to us. Let me show you our borders.
Isabel Kershner Contributed reporting.
