Eventually, Mossad's bombing of Sharm el-Sheik pays off(*):
Wed., August 24, 2005 Av 19, 5765
Mofaz: Israel, Egypt finalize details of Philadelphi route deal
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel and Egypt have come to an understanding over the details of the "Philadelphi agreement," according to which Egypt will deploy border police in Rafah on its side of the border with the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Wednesday.
"This agreement ultimates gives comprehensive - and I emphasize, comprehensive - responsibility to the Egyptians regarding the prevention of weapons smuggling in the Philadelphi corridor in tunnels and above ground, into the Gaza Strip," Mofaz told Army Radio.
Both sides have also agreed on a signing date once the agreement has been brought before the government and the Knesset, defense sources said.
Israel delayed a final agreement after demanding Egypt promise not to provide weapons and ammunition to the Palestinian Authority.
Defense sources said that both sides have reached an understanding on the matter, and that there are no issues left to be resolved.
Israel views the Egyptian deployment as a necessary condition for a withdrawal by the Israel Defense Forces from the Philadelphi route in Rafah, which will consummate the evacuation of the Gaza Strip.
According to the agreement, which is titled "Agreed Arrangement in the Matter of Deployment of a Task Force of the Border Guards Along the Length of Border in the Rafah Region," 750 Egyptian border police will man the area from the coast all the way to the Negev border town of Kerem Shalom.
The Egyptians will be equipped with police-style armored personnel carriers, light arms, and rocket propelled grenade launchers. In addition, the Egyptians plan on building unfortified observation posts.
The task force is meant to prevent weapons smuggling, terror attacks, and cross-border infiltration. Egypt will also deploy a small naval unit to patrol the maritime border with the Gaza Strip.
Abbas to meet Mubarak in Cairo
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas passed through Rafah, the only Gaza Strip gateway to the outside world, on Tuesday as he headed to a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Abbas called on Arab leaders to hold their next summit in Gaza, a symbolic gesture to boost his authority and bring the impoverished strip to the attention of Arab countries.
He made the crossing a day after Israel completed the withdrawal of 8,000 settlers from Gaza, ending an 38-year occupation of the strip. Four West Bank settlements were closed down Tuesday.
"The Israeli pullout from Gaza strip is now completed, but there are still some Israeli forces in control of the crossings and the airport, and we are cooperating with the Israelis to reopen the airport soon," Abbas told reporters at the crossing on his first trip abroad since the withdrawal. Control over the Rafah crossing has not yet been determined.
Gaza international airport has been closed for four years, and its reopening is considered vital to ending the coastal strip's role of a poverty-stricken breeding ground for extremists.
For now, the land crossing into Egypt is Gaza's only opening to the outside world, and Egypt and Israel are still discussing the deployment of 750 Egyptian security forces along the border.
Israel and the Palestinians have not yet agreed on border controls. Israel has balked at a proposal to replace Israeli security officials at the crossing with foreign inspectors.
Abbas, who was accompanied by Mohammed Dahlan, the Palestinian security coordinator for the pullout plan, said he and Mubarak would meet Wednesday to discuss assistance to the Palestinian Authority. He did not elaborate but the issue of border controls was expected to be on the agenda.
Senior Egyptian officials are expected in Israel in the coming days to complete the agreement to deploy Egyptian security forces.
The Palestinian authority's success in taking control of Gaza depends largely on Israeli willingness to allow the Palestinians to open a Mediterranean port and reopen the airport. Also essential is assurance of open borders to facilitate the movement of goods and people.
Israel fears open borders would encourage weapons smuggling.
haaretz.com
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Reminder:
Egypt arrests dozens in hunt for bombers who killed 88
SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt (AP) — The bombers who carried out Egypt's worst-ever terrorist attack, killing at least 88 people and injuring 100, appear to have entered the Red Sea resort in pickup trucks loaded with an estimated 880 pounds of explosives that were hidden under vegetables, security officials said Sunday. Police were searching for three suspects believed to have survived the bombings.
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