Egypt–Gaza barrier - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Egypt-Gaza barrier refers to the Philadelphi Route

Philadelphi Route

The Philadelphi Route refers to a narrow strip of land, 14 km in length, situated along the border between Gaza Strip and Egypt. Under the provisions of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979, the buffer zone was controlled and patrolled by Israeli forces. After the 1995 Oslo Accords,...

along Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

's 12 km border with the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip

thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

, and now also to an underground metal barrier Egypt is building, in an attempt to curb the use of smuggling tunnels. It will extend 35 metres (115ft) below the surface. The Government of Egypt

Politics of Egypt

The government of Egypt, as of February 27, 2011, is a republic currently under military rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after the President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak stepped down following several days of mass protests. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the...

states that the building of the barrier is a matter of national security that aims to "secure the borders and make Egypt more safe."

Technical aspects

The project enjoys technical cooperation from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Egypt has reinforced the border with several hundred troops to protect construction crews from Palestinian sniper attacks.

Palestinian sources said that construction of the barrier was damaging dozens of smuggling tunnels as deep as 30 meters, causing them to collapse on a nearly daily basis and killing operators, especially tunnels near the Rafah border terminal. They added that most of the 1,500 tunnels between Gaza and Egypt remained unaffected. The sources also stated that the project has alarmed the Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

regime in the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip

, which charges an annual $2,500 for the right to operate a tunnel.

Aims

According to analysts at a January 2010 Egyptian security conference, the barrier reflects Cairo's concern that al Qaeda-inspired militants from the Gaza Strip will infiltrate Egypt after being forced out by Islamist militant group Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

, the de-facto governing authority in the Strip. The analysts said Egypt could become a haven and a battleground for small Salafist militant groups such as Jund Ansar Allah

Jund Ansar Allah

Jund Ansar Allah is an armed Islamist organization operating in the Gaza Strip. On August 14, 2009, the group's spiritual leader, Sheikh Abdel Latif Moussa, announced the establishment of an Islamic emirate in the Palestinian territories and criticized the ruling power, Hamas, for failing to...

, Jaysh al Islam and Jaljalat

Jaljalat

Jaljalat is an armed Islamist group operating in the Gaza Strip taking inspiration from al-Qaeda. In September 2009, the organization revealed it had attempted to assassinate former US president Jimmy Carter and Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair.-Background:Mahmoud Taleb, also known by the...

, which have been squashed by Hamas since it took control in 2007.

The barrier has proved to be of little effect, with it being "breached hundreds of times" according to an Egyptian security official.

Support

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...

declared support for the barrier, adding: "It is the Egyptians’ sovereign right in their own country. Legitimate supplies should be brought through the legal crossings."

The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

announced its support for the barrier saying it would prevent weapons smuggling.

Cairo's main Al-Azhar University

Al-Azhar University

Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...

officially backed the government's decision saying that it was the "state's right to build along its walls facilities and obstacles that will enhance its security."

Opposition

Militant Islamist group Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

, the de-facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip, opposes the barrier and has called it a "wall of death".

Hassan Nasrallah

Hassan Nasrallah

Hasan Nasrallah, became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands,...

, chief of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, called on Egypt to halt construction.

The Islamic Action Front

Islamic Action Front

The Islamic Action Front is a political party in Jordan. It is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan....

(IAF), a Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

ian Islamist group, criticized Egypt for the barrier and accused it of "collaborating" with Israel and the United States. "The Egyptian authorities are ...increasing the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza by building the steel wall and closing the border crossings with Gaza," said Hamzah Mansour, a member of the Shura Council of the IAF.

A number of prominent Muslim clerics issued edicts against the wall, while Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood

Muslim Brotherhood

The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...

in Egypt, voiced his objection to the wall. In January 2010, small protests against the wall were held outside the Egyptian embassies in Jordan and Lebanon.

In a Palestinian demonstration along the border, an Egyptian border guard was shot dead and 20 Palestinians were injured from Egyptian fire.

Technical aspects

Aims

Support

Opposition

See also