Knesset Okays Philadelphi Deal, DM Mofaz Clueless Of Significance Of Israeli Presence In Philadelphi

2005-08-31

[IMRA: "Keeping a military force on the Philadelphi route in the aftermath of the Gaza pullout defies military logic and will risk the lives of IDF soldiers," Mofaz said - at the very same time that the Egyptians made clear that they intend to operate the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza without any Israeli involvement. Mr. Mofaz, as many other politicians (in the fine Israeli tradition of thinking as if the situation on the ground is the relevant situation for eternity), apparently thinks that the only thing the IDF presence would do in the future is what it does now - try to stop the smuggling in the tunnels. But after Israel completes its retreat from Gaza its presence in the narrow strip takes on a completely different and possibly more significant role: it prevents Egypt and the Palestinians from unilaterally deciding to operate border crossings without Israel's approval of the arrangements. It prevents it because any crossing has to cross the Philadelphi Corridor. Many Israeli analysts smugly reassure themselves that the "customs ace" - the threat that Israel will remove the Gaza Strip from Israel's customs envelope if Israel is not satisfied with border crossing arrangements - is such a strong threat that Israel has nothing to fear. But the strength of that threat relies on the perceived Israeli backbone - or lack thereof - should Israel face pressure from the White House and elsewhere to keep the envelope in place. And when it comes to Israel's perceived backbone.....

Is Mofaz really clueless? Hard to know. After all, he has consistently backed down from every position he has held since the start of the retreat plan when he realized that the man who he thinks holds the keys to his political future - Mr. Sharon - wanted him to change his stand. And so a man who got the attention of the nation when as Chief of Staff he defied the politicians when he felt necessary to let the nation know what he thought, now finds himself as a politician with what appears to be a very different set of priorities.]

Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents

www.haaretz.com/hasen/ spages/619534.html

The Knesset on Wednesday approved the government's agreement with Egypt under which 750 Egyptian troops will deploy along the Philadelphi route, bordering with the Gaza Strip, after Israel completes its withdrawal from the Strip.

The deal was approved by a 53 to 28 majority, with no abstentions.

Meanwhile, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz in Jerusalem on Wednesday to discuss security arrangements along the Philadelphi route.

Egypt rejected an Israeli proposal to partition the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza into two sections. According to the terms of the proposal, the existing terminal would serve Palestinians as an unhindered passage into Egypt. A separate section for entry into Gaza would be under Israeli security and customs supervision.

Many political parties were split in the Knesset vote over the deal to deploy Egyptian troops: Likud 'rebels', headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, voted against it while MKs loyal to Sharon supported the agreement. Likud ministers Limor Livnat and Tzachi Hanegbi, who voted against the deal in the government meeting, were absent from the Knesset during the vote.

Shinui MKs voted in favor of the deal despite the fact that the party's leader, MK Joseph Lapid, voted against it. Meretz-Yahad and the Arab parties voted unanimously in favor of the deal.

Vice Premier Shimon Peres lambasted Netanyahu, calling him to stop "promoting fear in the nation."

Mofaz, who opened the debate leading to the vote, said that the deal would not pose a threat to Israel's security.

"Keeping a military force on the Philadelphi route in the aftermath of the Gaza pullout defies military logic and will risk the lives of IDF soldiers," Mofaz said.

Mofaz added that after the Knesset ratifies the agreement, Egyptian army forces will be deployed along the border, replacing the Egyptian police force currently stationed there, thus enabling Israel to remove all of its troops from the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian were committed to preventing weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip, Mofaz said, and they will be authorized to enter tanks and other heavy armor into the Sinai Peninsula.

Israel and Egypt will sign the deal on Thursday in Egypt, with Israel being represented by the head of the Israel Defense Forces Operations Wing, Major General Yisrael Ziv. The Egypt redeployment will start shortly after.

On Tuesday MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud), who is Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, sent a personal letter to every MK sharply criticizing the government's allocation of only 38 minutes for discussion of the agreement in its session this week. Steinitz also protested the fact that the head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet security service and the GOC Southern Command were not invited to the session in order to express their professional opinions on the agreement.

Steinitz stressed that senior officials in the defense establishment oppose the deal in its current shape, but fear articulating their positions. One exception, however, is the head of the National Security Council, Major General (res.) Giora Eiland, who this week made public his criticism of the agreement.

According to Eiland, the decision-making process on the agreement raises questions about the way in which Israel makes decisions on matters of national security.

Eiland said that the point of having the security-political cabinet within the government framework is brought into doubt if this small forum is not exposed to the relative intelligence assessments or some of the defense establishment's hesitations before making decisions on such crucial subjects.

Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis