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Update
from AIJAC
Israel's
Raid on Rafah and the Philadelphi Road
May
18, 2004
Number 05/04 #08
This Update
is an attempt to explain the background for the current major operation
by Israeli forces in Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, which
has left 20 Palestinians, including 6 civilians, dead.
First, Israel
academic specialist Dr. Gerald Steinberg examines the massive arms smuggling
under the Philadelphi road which spans the Gaza border with Egypt, and
the need to control this traffic in order to make the Gaza disengagement
plan work. For his detailed explanation of the operation from Canada's
National Post, CLICK HERE.
Next the
reliably incisive and well-informed Zeev Schiff of Haaretz, looks
precisely at what the soldiers in Rafah are attempting to do and how they
will do it. For his analysis, CLICK HERE.
Finally,
here is a general background piece about the overall problem of the Philadelphi
road, and weapons smuggling from Egypt from The Media Line, a Middle East
oriented news service. To read this important general background, CLICK
HERE.
Sharon's
end game in Gaza
By GERALD
M. STEINBERG
National Post (Canada) -- May 19 2004
Most Israelis view Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan as the
most realistic path to ending this round of the Arab-Israeli conflict. But
for his strategy to succeed, Israeli forces must ensure that Palestinian
terrorists cannot escalate their attacks against Jewish targets, particularly
in and around Gaza. This is the main reason for the current flare-up, in
which Palestinians have attempted to thwart Israeli efforts to destroy arms-smuggling
tunnels from Egypt, missile factories and explosives laboratories hidden
in Gaza's densely populated cities.
In contrast to West Bank cities such as Jenin, where Israeli forces have
dismantled the Palestinian terror network, the cities of Gaza remain under
Palestinian control - and terrorists brandish weapons openly. Terror groups
have launched rockets against Israeli targets; and have killed Israeli civilians
- including Tali Hatuel and her four children, gunned down this month at
point-blank range. Gaza is the last bastion of Yasser Arafat's war, and
therefore provides Palestinian leaders with their only hope of a decisive
military victory. A major "success," such as a missile attack against an
Israeli school or a chemical facility, and perhaps they can bring the Jewish
state to its knees, or at least so they hope.
Indeed, Hamas recently smuggled explosives and two "militants" out of Gaza
in an effort to blow up the port of Ashkelon. It was in response to this
that Israel finally launched its major Gaza offensive.
The difficulties that Israel faces in Gaza result from the flow of arms
and explosives that began with the Oslo process in 1993 and the creation
of the Palestinian Authority. Instead of pursuing peace, the Palestinians
used Gaza's sea access and European-built airport to build up their arsenal.
After Israel halted air and sea traffic as terror attacks escalated in late
2000, the Palestinians expanded the network of tunnels along the Egyptian
border, through which missiles components were delivered to launch points
in Gaza. (Despite its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, the Egyptian government
has turned a blind eye.)
The Israeli military has tried to avoid direct fighting in Gaza's densely
packed cities. Knowing the Israeli aversion to civilian casualties, the
Palestinians built the tunnel entrances and munitions factories in the most
crowded areas. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have thus been forced to
stage raids with their ground forces rather than destroy the facilities
from the air. Last week, Israeli troops were ambushed, resulting in the
deaths of 13 soldiers. Palestinians celebrated. And in a particularly hateful
gesture, the soldiers' body parts were paraded through the streets of Gaza.
This is clearly a confrontation from which Israel cannot afford to walk
away. If the flow of weapons and explosives from Gaza continues, the
terror attacks will escalate, particularly following an Israeli withdrawal.
In practical terms, this means the IDF must fortify the narrow road leading
from Israel to the Rafah border area. The Palestinians have built structures
along the edge of this road - both because land is in short supply, but
also to provide a cover from which to attack Israeli forces seeking to interdict
weapon smuggling. To widen the road, and expose the entrances and construction
activity to air attack, Israel has no choice but to destroy some of these
structures.
The optics of this demolition project are not good for Israel, and have
engendered the usual one-sided condemnations from the United Nations, European
politicians and human-rights groups. But, as the Israeli High Court recently
noted, none of the critics have devised a workable alternative. Ritual calls
to return to the negotiating table are unrealistic given there is no serious
Palestinian peace partner.
Once the smuggling of weapons has ended, Sharon can proceed with his plan
to evacuate civilian settlements from Gaza without risking missile attacks
against nearby cities. And perhaps the realization that the military defeat
of Israel is not an option will lead the post-Arafat generation of Palestinian
leaders to more constructive approach.
Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg directs the Program on Conflict Management
and Negotiation Political Studies at Bar Ilan University in Israel.
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Analysis / A strike at the smugglers
By Ze'ev
Schiff
Ha'aretz, 18/05/2004
The purpose of the Israel Defense Forces operation in Rafah is to isolate
the southern Palestinian city from the rest of Gaza to prevent the transfer
of weapons that the Palestinians managed to smuggle in lately via the Philadelphi
route, and to arrest contractors and experts builing the tunnels from Sinai
into Rafah.
No deadline has been set for ending the operation but the army clearly does
not plan to remain there for long.
While the operations along the Philadelphi route are meant to broaden the
corridor and demolish houses used by Palestinians as cover when they shoot
near the road, the current operation's purpose is very different. The goal
is not to demolish buildings or broaden roads. The goal is to create another
barricade or checkpoint, albeit temporary, halting weapons smuggled through
the tunnels.
The instructions to the forces are to be careful in any military actions
that could cause humanitarian difficulties. But it is obvious that despite
that order, the Palestinian population will suffer because of IDF efforts
to prevent large-scale weapons smuggling.
The operation will not be limited to creating a defensive belt around the
city because a key purpose is to capture contractors and tunneling experts.
Several dozen specific people are on the IDF's wanted list. The contractors,
tunneling experts and smugglers all earn handsome livelihoods from the tunnels
and selling the weapons they manage to get through.
The latest deliveries include RPGs, Kalashnikovs and ammunition, but most
significantly, there has been a large quantity of factory-grade explosives
brought into Gaza through the tunnels.
Military operations of such dimensions require integrating relatively large
numbers of forces, much more than are required for a brigade incursion,
which will have an impact on determining how long the army keeps the troops
going in the operation.
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SOUTHERN
GAZA AND THE SMUGGLING TUNNELS
By Yaniv
Berman
The Media
Line, Thursday, May 13, 2004
Five Israeli soldiers were killed near the Israeli-Egyptian border on
May 12. The soldiers were engaged in a routine patrol, aimed at
locating tunnels used for smuggling weapons across the border. This
item aims to explore the significance of the tunnels and the activity
conducted in order to prevent the smuggling.
Rafah and the Philadelphi Road
 At
its northern tip, the border-line between Israel and Egypt runs across
the town of Rafah. The town, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip,
was divided between the two countries in 1982, after the signing of their
peace treaty. When the Palestinian Authority (PA) was established
in 1993, and the Oslo agreements were signed, the PA was granted control
over most of the Gaza Strip. According to the agreements, Israel
was left in control of a narrow strip of land - the Philadelphi Road -
stretching for nine miles alongside the border. This strip divides
Rafah into two: Palestinian Rafah (on the Israeli/Palestinian side of
the border) and Egyptian Rafah.
 Smuggling
of goods and drugs between the two sides of the divided city began during
the 1980s. Later on, when a strong Islamic infrastructure was building
up in the Gaza Strip, tunnels were also used for smuggling weapons.
Who uses the tunnels, and for what purposes?
The tunnels are mostly used by terror organizations such as Hamas and
the Popular Resistance Committees. The smuggling industry in Rafah
today is a major channel for obtaining arms. According to the Israeli
army, since the beginning of 2003 many kinds of weapons have been smuggled
through those tunnels, including dozens of RPG rockets and launchers,
hundreds of pounds of explosive materials, hundreds of Kalashnikov rifles,
tens of thousands of bullets, and thousands of magazines. Experts
assess that the industry is making millions of dollars a year, with an
average of $50,000 per smuggling activity.
It is not only terror organizations that use these tunnels for smuggling
arms. According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
in Herzliya, Israel, the PA itself is known to have funded and dug the
tunnels to obtain arms and merchandise. That is why the PA has been
reluctant to effectively act against the tunnels, especially during the
current round of violence, which began in September 2000. High-ranking
officials in the PA were personally involved in funding and backing the
tunnels. They did so in order to preserve a channel for smuggling
arms, and at the same time benefited financially from the profits.
During the uprising, the PA has gradually lost control over the Gaza Strip
to the terror organizations, mainly Hamas. That is why today, even
if it wanted to prevent the smuggling operations, the PA would find it
an almost impossible mission.
Israel’s actions against the smuggling
The Israeli army is conducting a relentless war against this widespread
phenomenon. During 2002, 33 tunnels were located and destroyed,
and during 2003, the number of tunnels found increased to 40.
Nevertheless, this is a very complicated mission, as the tunnels are usually
located within densely-populated neighborhoods. Many times the openings
of the tunnels are dug from within houses. And to add to these difficulties,
the search for the tunnels is conducted under heavy fire from armed terrorists,
who use the local population as a shield.
And where are the Egyptians?
The smuggling is conducted from the Egyptian side of the border to the
Israeli/Palestinian side. Nevertheless experts do not believe the
Egyptians are able to control this activity. As a matter of fact,
nothing is preventing Egypt from trying to stop this activity from their
side of the border. But the fact is that the low salaries paid to
Egyptians make them very vulnerable to bribery. In short, the experts
say, little help can be expected from Egypt, and none from the PA, in
trying to block the tunnels.
Rafah citizens suffer and protest
While those who operate the tunnels earn tremendous amounts of money,
citizens in Rafah are mostly suffering as a result of the smuggling.
The citizens are blaming the operators for jeopardizing their safety,
and the PA for doing nothing to prevent this. From time to time
the citizens protest against the PA, but to no avail. On October
15, 2003 people of the Brazil neighborhood in Rafah held a demonstration
in front of the Palestinian police station. They demanded the sealing
of the tunnels and even gave the police names of four tunnels’ owners.
On December 29, 2003 citizens of Rafah built a protest tent, where they
demonstrated against the “indifferent policy” of the PA.
Other protests were held later on, but the PA did nothing.
Sharon: We will not leave Philadelphi Road
In light of the situation on the border, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon has said on more than one occasion that the Philadelphi Road will
not be evacuated under any circumstances. Recently, during a referendum
campaign within his Likud party, Sharon suggested disengaging from the
Gaza Strip, but retaining army forces on this road. Most senior
military commanders strongly support Sharon’s reluctance to leave
the Philadelphi Road to Palestinian or Egyptian security forces.
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