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Coverage of the Events since October 2000
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Background: Rafah Inspection Regime Gives PA More Sovereignty Than Jordan Or Israel Have Had
2005-11-19
The "Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing" of 15 November 2005 that was finalized by U.S. Secretary of State Rice shows more respect for Palestinian sovereignty than previous inspection regimes imposed on Israel and Jordan.
Under the terms of the agreement
(see http://usinfo.state.gov/ mena/Archive/2005/Nov/ 15-381874.html for text),
the Palestinian Authority carries out all inspections with a 3rd party, at best, observing the inspections as they are carried out.
In sharp contrast, when the UN Sanctions Committee required the inspection of all cargo ships entering the Gulf of Aqaba to insure that they were not carrying material in violation of the embargo imposed on Iraq, concerns for the sovereignty of Jordan and Israel did not stop the UN from requiring that the inspections themselves be carried out by a third party.
The inspection at sea by third parties (British and US naval units) imposed a serious financial hardship on Eilat bound ships (yes - Eilat bound ships were inspected to make sure that they were not violating the boycott on Iraq) as the inspectors required that the heights of the stacks of containers on the vessels be reduced to facilitate inspection, thus significantly reducing the capacity of the vessels. In the mid-1990s Jordan opted to pay Lloyd's Register $2.35 million a year to inspect shipments as they were unloaded at Aqaba Port rather than at sea to reduce costs. These inspections continued through 2000. Unlike the Rafah model, Lloyd's Register did not observe Jordanian inspectors but instead carried out the inspections themselves. It remain unclear why Secretary of State Rice felt that it was incumbent to respect the "sovereignty" of the PA more than previous inspection regimes respected the sovereignty of Israel and Jordan.
Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis
