Het zou toch mogelijk moeten zijn dat de Palestijnen die via de Rafah grensovergang naar Egypte gaan, fatsoenlijk worden gecontroleerd, zodat Hamas daar geen misbruik van kan maken? Eerdere keren is dat niet gebeurd, dus Israels zorgen zijn begrijpelijk, maar het zou toch moeten kunnen? Een ding is duidelijk: Hamas moet in die controle geen rol spelen. Egypte samen met internationale waarnemers zouden die taak nu op zich kunnen nemen, maar Hamas heeft dergelijke plannen consequent tegengewerkt en eerdere waarnemers naar huis gestuurd.
RP
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'Opening Rafah will increase Sinai risk'
'Opening Rafah will increase Sinai risk'
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Sep. 16, 2008
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1221489051114&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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Israeli defense officials expressed concern Tuesday that Palestinian terrorists will take advantage of Egypt's decision to open the Rafah border crossing next week to infiltrate into the Sinai Desert where they can join existing cells in targeting Israeli vacationers.
On Monday, Egypt announced plans to open the crossing for a limited time to enable Gazans to travel to Mecca to partake in the Umrah, known as the Lesser Pilgrimage. Egypt last opened its border with Gaza in late August to enable hundreds of ill Palestinians and students to leave the Strip.
The concern in Israel is that Palestinian terrorists will take advantage of the opening of the crossing to leave the Gaza Strip and join cells that are plotting attacks against Israelis vacationing in the Sinai.
"Whenever the crossing is opened, terrorists cross back and forth," a top defense official said.
The Counter-Terrorism Bureau this week sharpened an existing travel advisory on the Sinai, revealing that Palestinian terrorists were cooperating with Hizbullah in an effort to kidnap Israelis and transport them to the Gaza Strip. The Bureau urged Israelis not to travel to the Sinai in the coming weeks, and to immediately return to Israel if they are already there.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged Israelis on Tuesday to refrain from visiting Egypt.
"The State of Israel is located in a tough neighborhood, and we are surrounded by attempts to strike at us," he said on the sidelines of a military exercise in the south. "It is difficult to receive a travel advisory that asks you not to travel to Sinai and to leave but behind it is a real threat."
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