The only way to secure the Egypt-Gaza border....
Pipes details the history of the PC, from the 1979 Camp David Accords to the present. Egypt is obligated to police its Gaza border under Camp David's Article III:2:
Each Party undertakes to ensure that acts or threats of belligerency, hostility, or violence do not originate from and are not committed from within its territory, or by any forces subject to its control or by any other forces stationed on its territory , against the population, citizens or property of the other Party. Each Party also undertakes to refrain from organizing, instigating, inciting, assisting or participating in acts or threats of belligerency, hostility, subversion or violence against the other Party, anywhere, and undertakes to ensure that perpetrators of such acts are brought to justice.
The May 4, 1994 Gaza-Jericho Agreement entitles Israel to retake the PC if its terms are violated. Article XVIII provides:
PREVENTION OF HOSTILE ACTS
Both sides shall take all measures necessary in order to prevent acts of terrorism, crime and hostilities directed against each other, against individuals falling under the other's authority and against their property, and shall take legal measures against offenders. In addition, the Palestinian side shall take all measures necessary to prevent such hostile acts directed against the Settlements, the infrastructure serving them and the Military Installation Area, and the Israeli side shall take all measures necessary to prevent such hostile acts emanating from the Settlements and directed against Palestinians.
In 2005 SecState Condi Rice pressured Israel to withdraw from Gaza. Sharon assented, and under the Agreed Documents on Movement and Access From and To Gaza (Nov. 15, 2005), the 1979 Camp David Accords set forth the legal obligations of the parties. A designated Third Party--the EU--was appointed to oversee security arrangements:
Third party
The 3rd party will have the authority to ensure that the PA complies with all applicable rules and regulations concerning the Rafah crossing point and the terms of this agreement. In case of non-compliance the 3rd party has the authority to order the re-examination and reassessment of any passenger, luggage, vehicle or goods. While the request is being processed, the person, luggage, vehicle or cargo in question will not be allowed to leave the premises of the Rafah crossing point.
The 3rd party will assist the PA to build capacity - training, equipment and technical assistance - on border management and customs.
Details of the 3rd party's role are specified in the attached memorandum of understanding.
The 3rd party will be the European Union
EU border police were put in. The EU--part of Colin Powell's abysmal "Quartet" diplomatic folly (US, UN, EU & Russia, established Oct. 25, 2001)--did nothing to stop the flow of weapons from Egypt into Gaza via the tunnels in the PC. In 2007, upon his stepping down as UK prime minister, Tony Blair accepted the post of Special Envoy from the Quartet. Equally complicit is the UN, whose functionaries in Gaza turn a blind eye to Hamas's evil & slander Israel regularly.
Pipes notes that Egypt under Mubarak did not stop the flow of arms into Gaza--hence the first Israeli-Hamas War, four years ago. It is, of course, even less likely that an Egypt ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood will do so. As I write this I see television video of Hamas terrorists digging more tunnels in Gaza, to prepare for the next round of fighting.
All of this is of a piece with widely-held illusions that the Palestinians yearn for peace. Palestinians yearning for peace would not intentionally endanger their children by telling them to disregard Israeli warnings to clear specified areas marked for Israeli strikes, thereby partially defeating exacting Israeli measures intended to greatly minimize collateral casualties. Hamas actively uses human shields, a flagrant black-letter violation of bedrock international law--blatantly ignored by global media & the UN.
Pipes suggests that Israel retake the PI corridor, with either Israeli or US forces inserted to provide security. With a Romney administration, this might have been possible. It is--as Pipes surely knows--impossible to believe that President Obama will go along with this. Pipes writes for the record, as lawyers say. It is useful to keep history in mind. Perhaps if the GOP retakes the White House in 2016 a new tack on Gaza will come to pass.
Bottom Line. Expect four rough years in Gaza--and in Israel.
Letter from the Capitol, LFTC, National Security, Foreign Policy, Conservative Politics
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