Why doesn’t Egypt open Rafah crossing?
By Hojjatollah Joudaki
Former Iranian diplomat in Egypt
The war between Israel and Hamas, and the subsequent Israeli war crimes in Gaza prompted a question in the minds of many: Why doesn’t the Islamic government of Egypt open the Rafah border crossing and let Gazans into its Sinai Desert?
It seems to me that one of the most significant measures of the Egyptian government in recent years, which turned in favor of Palestinians, was the same decision to keep the Rafah closed. Cairo has so far ignored numerous suggestions by Israel and some Western countries and never gave the green light to their project of relocating the people of Gaza into the Sinai Desert. Moving Gazans out of Gaza is the main step in Israel’s plan for ethnically cleansing the land.
Our past experience tells us all that if the people of Gaza were ever forced to migrate out of Palestine, there would never be another chance for them to return. In this light, Cairo’s resistance against Israel’s demands for the forced migration of Palestinians to the Sinai becomes justifiable.
Tel Aviv claims to be fighting Hamas’s armed forces in Gaza. So the Egyptians proposed that the Gaza civilians be relocated, not to the Sinai Desert, but to the Negev Desert, within the occupied territories in order to keep them safe from the war. Yet, the Israelis declined the proposal because their main goal is not to distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel wants both to force Gazans to migrate out and to crush Hamas fighters, but this is easier said than done. Whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wins or loses this war, he will soon be sacked and indicted in court. Nevertheless, he thinks that if he can come out of this as a war hero, it may positively affect his open lawsuits in Israeli courts.
Of course, he is mistaken since more and more voices are starting to slam his warmongering policies within the occupied territories. Even now, there are Israeli media and former officials that stress the need to remove Netanyahu. It has been proven that he can’t bring peace and prosperity to Israel.
Netanyahu is working against himself and Israel. Even if he manages to destroy Hamas, from the ashes of that devastating war another group or groups would rise that would surely be a tougher opponent than Hamas.
What is more, the world public opinion is against Israel already. The efforts by Netanyahu and the Israelis to play innocent during the early days of the war fell flat quickly. Their continuous string of war crimes in Gaza has angered people everywhere.
So, it doesn’t seem like Israel would be able to achieve its goals. It can neither force Gazans out of their homes, nor can it destroy Hamas. It may be able to kill the fighters of Hamas, but the idea behind Hamas will not die. Netanyahu is sinking deeper into Gaza’s quagmire, and whatever war crimes he commits only strengthens the case against him.