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Breach of the Gaza-Egypt border (2008)
Encyclopedia
The breach of the Gaza-Egypt border began on January 23, 2008, after Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip
set off an explosion near the Rafah Border Crossing, destroying part of the Israel and Egypt – Gaza Strip barrier. The United Nations
estimates that as many as half the 1.5 million population of the Gaza Strip crossed the border into Egypt
seeking food and supplies. Israeli police went on an increased alert due to fears that militants would acquire weapons in Egypt.
Egypt closed the Rafah Border Crossing in June 2007, days before the Hamas
took control of Gaza at the end of the Fatah-Hamas conflict
; The breach followed a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel beginning in part that same June, with fuel supply reductions in October 2007. A total blockade had begun on January 17, 2008 following a rise in rocket attacks on Israel emanating from Gaza.
Although Israel demanded Egypt reseal the border due to security concerns, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak
ordered his troops to allow crossings to alleviate the humanitarian crisis
, while verifying that the Gazans did not attempt to bring weapons back into Gaza.
The United Nations Human Rights Council
condemned Israel for the 15th time in less than two years on January 24, calling the blockade collective punishment
. However, the proceedings were boycotted by Israel and the United States
.
On January 27, 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
promised that Israel would no longer disrupt the supply of food, medicine and necessary energy into the Gaza Strip. President Mubarak meanwhile announced plans to meet separately with representatives of Hamas and Fatah
to come to a new border control agreement.
In five days, Gazans spent some US$250 million in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate's capital of Arish alone. The sudden enormous demand there for staple products led to large local price rises and some shortages.
On February 3, 2008, Gaza's Foreign minister, Mahmoud al-Zahar
, announced that Hamas and Egypt would cooperate in controlling the border without Israeli oversight. The border was closed, after 11 days, except for travelers returning home.
subsequent to the Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
which ended their 38 year occupation of Gaza in 2005 (q.v. Philadelphi Route
). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
brokered a deal with Israel giving the Palestinian National Authority
control over the Rafah Border crossing under the remote video
observation of European Union
and Israeli monitors (q.v. European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah
).
After Hamas
won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election
in January 2006, an international diplomatic and financial boycott
of the new Hamas-led government
began. Beginning in June 2006, a series of battles erupted between Palestinian gunmen and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict
, which ended in a truce on 26 November.
In December 2006 Hamas began fighting to expel Fatah
. Hundreds of rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza had continued despite the November truce; In March 2007, the Palestinian Legislative Council
established a national unity government, with 83 representatives voting in favor and three against. Government ministers were sworn in by Mahmoud Abbas
, the chairman on the Palestinian Authority, in a ceremony held simultaneously in Gaza and Ramallah. In June 2007 Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and removed Fatah
officials. Following the Battle of Gaza
, the international sanctions were terminated in June 2007 while at the same time a new and more severe blockade of the Gaza Strip was initiated.
In response to the violent clashes, President Abbas declared a state of emergency and dissolved the national unity government on June 14. Hamas gained complete control of the Gaza Strip on June 15, after forcing out Fatah. The Israeli government closed all check-points along its border with Gaza in response to the violence. Egypt closed its border when fighting between Fatah and Hamas
started on June 7. The European Union monitors ended their oversight at the frontier on June 14 due to security concerns. Egyptian officials said that a decision to reopen Gaza's border would be made in consultation with the European Union and Israel. Hamas seized control of Gaza on June 15.
In July 2007, Israeli officials planned to open the border crossing at Rafah to allow stranded Palestinians to return to Gaza but were deterred by Hamas's threats to open fire on the refugees.
In October 2007, Israel began limiting fuel supplies to the territory. Ongoing rocket attacks on Israel
i civilian population centers, such as Sderot
, prompted the Israeli government to declare the Gaza Strip a hostile entity in September 2007 enabling it to further limit exports to Gaza. Hamas responded that Israel had effectively declared war by labeling Gaza as an "enemy entity."
In December 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) confirmed the need for humanitarian relief in the Palestinian territories
. In a statement, the ICRC described the living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as "alarming" and called for Israel to ease restrictions on the movement of goods into Gaza and the West Bank
.
By January 2008, the economic effects of the blockade had reached a critical threshold, according to a United Nations study. Finally, on January 17, 2008, Israel sealed the border completely following a rise in rocket attacks.
On January 20, the only power plant in Gaza shut down. The United Nations officials implored Israel to reverse its decision to seal all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, warning that the violence in the region and cutoff of crucial supplies for 1.4 million Palestinians was provoking a humanitarian crisis. Israel accused Hamas of "fabricating" the power shortage, pointing out that the power plant in Gaza produces only a minority of the territory's power. Israel stated that the blackout occurred for media purposes and stated that Hamas had timed it themselves. Israel said it was still providing nearly 70 percent of the territory's power directly.
Following widespread international concern about an impending humanitarian crisis, and a warning from the United Nations that World Food Programme
aid to about 860,000 Gazans could be halted within days because of the blockade, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
decided to ease restrictions on the flow of goods into Gaza for a day on January 22, permitting shipments of fuel for Gaza's power plant and cooking oil to enter Gaza.
On January 22, gunfire erupted after a group of Hamas demonstrators, mostly women, forced open the door of the Rafah Border crossing and fled into Egypt.
Overnight on January 23, gunmen set off a number of explosions along the wall near the crossing. Palestinians packed into cars and donkey carts, crossed the border into Egypt
from Gaza on foot, to buy essential goods. Between 200,000 and 700,000 Palestinians crossed over to Egypt and bought items at shops at the Egyptian half of Rafah
and the North Sinai Governorate's capital, Arish. A Palestinian security guard later told The Times
of London
that militants had been steadily cutting through the base of the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier
with oxyacetylene torches for months.
While Egypt allowed Palestinians to enter Egypt, it did not let them travel very far; Palestinians were not allowed to travel further than Arish. Egypt said that it would not use force to send back Palestinians. Foreign ministry
spokesman Hossam Zaki said the border would be closed again when all the Palestinians had returned.
Ahmed Yousef
, a senior adviser to Gaza's Prime Minister Ismail Haniya
, warned that "The next time there is a crisis in the Gaza Strip, Israel will have to face half a million Palestinians who will march toward Erez
," a border crossing with Israel, and on to towns left during the 1948 Palestinian exodus
. Israeli security officials said militants had exploited the breach in the border wall to send armed men into the Sinai to infiltrate Israel across the Sinai-Israel border
. The officials said the militants were eager to hit back in response to Israeli attacks in recent weeks and predicted attacks from Sinai within the next two weeks.
On January 25 Egyptian security forces blocked almost all illegal entry
points along the border with Gaza to try to stem the flow of Palestinians wanting to leave. Egyptian forces in riot gear erected barbed wire and chain-link fences along the border to prevent more Palestinians from crossing. Palestinians attempted to break through, and several were injured in the resulting clashes.
After the repair, Palestinians used a bulldozer to knock over the new fence, creating an opening once more. As the border crossings entered their fifth day, Egyptian border police began stopping Gazans from entering in vehicles and blocked off the road beyond Rafah to Arish. In Rafah there was little left to buy, and it appeared Egypt had decided to restrict the resupply of goods to El Arish and Rafah in order to peacefully end the crossings and reestablish control over the border.
On January 28, Egyptian security forces and Hamas militants strung barbed wire across one of the breaches, sealing it off. The Egyptians began repairing one of the two remaining breaches on January 29.
condemned Israel for the 15th time in less than two years on January 24. The Council released a statement calling on Israel to stop its military operations in Gaza and to open the Strip's borders to allow the entry of food, fuel and medicine. It asked the international community to ensure that Israel stop its actions in Gaza, which it referred to as "collective punishment
of the Palestinian civilians that leads to disastrous humanitarian and environmental consequences."
An official resolution was presented by Syria
and Pakistan
on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
to the United Nations Security Council
but could not be agreed upon. Thirty nations voted in favor of the resolution, one (Canada
) voted against the resolution, 15 countries abstained, and one (Gabon
) was absent. Both Israel
and the United States
boycotted the proceedings, which ended with a call for Israel to lift its siege of Gaza but made no mention of the Palestinian rocket attacks on communities in the western Negev
.
overnight on January 24, killing Mohammed Abu Harb, the commander of Hamas's military there.
At a court hearing on 27 January, the Israeli government promised to resume supplies of fuel, but not at normal levels, for another week. Later that day, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
promised that Israel would no longer disrupt the supply of food, medicine and necessary energy into the Gaza Strip. Israel then launched additional air strikes targeting the Gazan military in Rafah, but there were no injuries.
, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas
, President
of the Palestinian National Authority
which controls the West Bank
, held talks on 27 January in Jerusalem on the border breach. Abbas reportedly wants to take over Gaza's border crossings, including the one with Egypt that Palestinians in Gaza breached, but Israel resisted the idea of giving the West Bank-based government control of the Gaza crossings, citing concerns about security.
Hamas
and Fatah
, who controlled Gaza before the last election, have accepted an invitation from Egypt
to hold separate talks in Cairo
on the border crisis. All sides hoped to create a plan to keep the border between Egypt and Gaza open. A Hamas delegation also met with Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal who has acted as a mediator between Hamas and Fatah.
An Israeli defense delegation secretly visited Cairo
on 28 January and discussed the situation with top Egyptian officials the London
-based Asharq Alawsat
newspaper reported. According to the report, the delegation relayed to Egypt Israel's fears that Judea and Samaria
and Gaza Strip
would smuggle weapons and explosives through Egypt's open border with the Gaza Strip. The Egyptians stressed that Israel was the one responsible for the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip and the eventual breaching of the border wall.
Hamas stated they would accept a return of the EU monitoring mission if it were to reside in Egypt or the Gaza Strip, as opposed to being based in Israel.
, as did the Egyptian government's decision to restrict goods coming into the border region in an effort to encourage the Palestinians to go back home. Palestinians also accused Egyptians of price gouging
, where prices have risen to the point where the cost of goods is suffiently high that supply matches demand.
The breach created tens of thousands of new jobs in Gaza where the returning caravans set up shop; unemployment had been at 40 percent. Egyptian merchants also crossed into the Gaza Strip to sell their wares. The food brought in from Egypt during the first six days would last Gazans three months, fuel about two days and cement for two weeks if the borders are resealed, according to various estimates from economists, business leaders and gas station owners.
However, were the border to remain open long term, Gaza's workers and manufacturers who had worked in the more upscale Israeli market
before layoffs during the Second Intifada would have trouble competing in Egypt's low-wage economy
, according to West Bank economist Nasser Abdel Karim.
offered to send aid to Egypt to alleviate the effects of the breach. - U.S. President George W. Bush
condemned Hamas for delivering "misery" to the Palestinian people, and called for talks to create a Palestinian state. - The EU said it would consider sending its monitors
back to Gaza's border with Egypt, and unveiled a new plan for getting aid to Palestinians.
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...
set off an explosion near the Rafah Border Crossing, destroying part of the Israel and Egypt – Gaza Strip barrier. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
estimates that as many as half the 1.5 million population of the Gaza Strip crossed the border into 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...
seeking food and supplies. Israeli police went on an increased alert due to fears that militants would acquire weapons in Egypt.
Egypt closed the Rafah Border Crossing in June 2007, days before 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...
took control of Gaza at the end of the Fatah-Hamas conflict
Fatah-Hamas conflict
The Fatah–Hamas conflict , also referred to as the Palestinian Civil War , and the Conflict of Brothers , i.e...
; The breach followed a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel beginning in part that same June, with fuel supply reductions in October 2007. A total blockade had begun on January 17, 2008 following a rise in rocket attacks on Israel emanating from Gaza.
Although Israel demanded Egypt reseal the border due to security concerns, Egyptian President
President of Egypt
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the head of state of Egypt.Under the Constitution of Egypt, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government....
Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
ordered his troops to allow crossings to alleviate the humanitarian crisis
Humanitarian crisis
A humanitarian crisis is an event or series of events which represents a critical threat to the health, safety, security or wellbeing of a community or other large group of people, usually over a wide area...
, while verifying that the Gazans did not attempt to bring weapons back into Gaza.
The United Nations Human Rights Council
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
condemned Israel for the 15th time in less than two years on January 24, calling the blockade collective punishment
Collective punishment
Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions...
. However, the proceedings were boycotted by Israel and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
On January 27, 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
promised that Israel would no longer disrupt the supply of food, medicine and necessary energy into the Gaza Strip. President Mubarak meanwhile announced plans to meet separately with representatives of Hamas and Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
to come to a new border control agreement.
In five days, Gazans spent some US$250 million in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate's capital of Arish alone. The sudden enormous demand there for staple products led to large local price rises and some shortages.
On February 3, 2008, Gaza's Foreign minister, Mahmoud al-Zahar
Mahmoud al-Zahar
Mahmoud al-Zahar is a co-founder of Hamas and a member of the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip. Since the formation of the Hamas/"Change and Reform" government in the Palestinian National Authority in March 2006, al-Zahar has served as foreign minister in the government of prime minister Ismail...
, announced that Hamas and Egypt would cooperate in controlling the border without Israeli oversight. The border was closed, after 11 days, except for travelers returning home.
Background
Egypt had pledged to help control their border with Gaza along the Israeli Gaza Strip barrierIsraeli Gaza Strip barrier
The Israel and Egypt − Gaza Strip barrier is a separation barrier first constructed by Israel in 1994 between the Gaza Strip and Israel. An addition to the barrier was finished in 2005 to separate the Gaza Strip and Egypt....
subsequent to the Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
which ended their 38 year occupation of Gaza in 2005 (q.v. 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,...
). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
brokered a deal with Israel giving the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
control over the Rafah Border crossing under the remote video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
observation of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and Israeli monitors (q.v. European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah
European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah
The European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah is, after the European Union Police Mission for the Gaza Strip , the EU's second Civilian Crisis Management Mission in the Gaza Strip. It is situated at the Rafah Border Crossing on the Palestinian-Egyptian border...
).
After 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...
won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...
in January 2006, an international diplomatic and financial boycott
Economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority
The 2006–2007 economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority were economic sanctions imposed by Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East against the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian territories following the January 2006 legislative elections that brought Hamas to...
of the new Hamas-led government
Governance of the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas after Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 and ousted Fatah officials as part of the Battle of Gaza . Hamas' political and military rival, Fatah, controls the West Bank. Both regimes regard themselves as the sole legitimate...
began. Beginning in June 2006, a series of battles erupted between Palestinian gunmen and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict
2006 Israel-Gaza conflict
The 2006 Israel–Gaza conflict refers to the series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces . Large-scale conventional warfare beyond the peripheries of the Gaza Strip began when Israel launched Operation Summer Rains , the codename for an IDF military operation in the...
, which ended in a truce on 26 November.
In December 2006 Hamas began fighting to expel Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
. Hundreds of rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza had continued despite the November truce; In March 2007, the Palestinian Legislative Council
Palestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza...
established a national unity government, with 83 representatives voting in favor and three against. Government ministers were sworn in by 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...
, the chairman on the Palestinian Authority, in a ceremony held simultaneously in Gaza and Ramallah. In June 2007 Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and removed Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
officials. Following the Battle of Gaza
Battle of Gaza (2007)
The Battle of Gaza was a military conflict between Hamas and Fatah that took place between June 7 and 15, 2007 in the Gaza Strip. After winning Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, Hamas and Fatah formed the Palestinan authority national unity government in 2007, headed by Ismail Haniya. In...
, the international sanctions were terminated in June 2007 while at the same time a new and more severe blockade of the Gaza Strip was initiated.
In response to the violent clashes, President Abbas declared a state of emergency and dissolved the national unity government on June 14. Hamas gained complete control of the Gaza Strip on June 15, after forcing out Fatah. The Israeli government closed all check-points along its border with Gaza in response to the violence. Egypt closed its border when fighting between Fatah and Hamas
Battle of Gaza (2007)
The Battle of Gaza was a military conflict between Hamas and Fatah that took place between June 7 and 15, 2007 in the Gaza Strip. After winning Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, Hamas and Fatah formed the Palestinan authority national unity government in 2007, headed by Ismail Haniya. In...
started on June 7. The European Union monitors ended their oversight at the frontier on June 14 due to security concerns. Egyptian officials said that a decision to reopen Gaza's border would be made in consultation with the European Union and Israel. Hamas seized control of Gaza on June 15.
Humanitarian crisis
Beginning in June 2007, Israel limited its exports to Gaza to nine basic materials. Out of 9,000 commodities (including foodstuffs) that were entering Gaza before the 2006 elections, only 20 commodities were to be allowed in.In July 2007, Israeli officials planned to open the border crossing at Rafah to allow stranded Palestinians to return to Gaza but were deterred by Hamas's threats to open fire on the refugees.
In October 2007, Israel began limiting fuel supplies to the territory. Ongoing rocket attacks on Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i civilian population centers, such as Sderot
Sderot
Sderot is a western Negev city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 20,700. The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip...
, prompted the Israeli government to declare the Gaza Strip a hostile entity in September 2007 enabling it to further limit exports to Gaza. Hamas responded that Israel had effectively declared war by labeling Gaza as an "enemy entity."
In December 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
(ICRC) confirmed the need for humanitarian relief in the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
. In a statement, the ICRC described the living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as "alarming" and called for Israel to ease restrictions on the movement of goods into Gaza and the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
By January 2008, the economic effects of the blockade had reached a critical threshold, according to a United Nations study. Finally, on January 17, 2008, Israel sealed the border completely following a rise in rocket attacks.
On January 20, the only power plant in Gaza shut down. The United Nations officials implored Israel to reverse its decision to seal all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, warning that the violence in the region and cutoff of crucial supplies for 1.4 million Palestinians was provoking a humanitarian crisis. Israel accused Hamas of "fabricating" the power shortage, pointing out that the power plant in Gaza produces only a minority of the territory's power. Israel stated that the blackout occurred for media purposes and stated that Hamas had timed it themselves. Israel said it was still providing nearly 70 percent of the territory's power directly.
Following widespread international concern about an impending humanitarian crisis, and a warning from the United Nations that World Food Programme
World Food Programme
The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
aid to about 860,000 Gazans could be halted within days because of the blockade, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
decided to ease restrictions on the flow of goods into Gaza for a day on January 22, permitting shipments of fuel for Gaza's power plant and cooking oil to enter Gaza.
Breaching of wall
Overnight on January 23, gunmen set off a number of explosions along the wall near the crossing. Palestinians packed into cars and donkey carts, crossed the border into 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...
from Gaza on foot, to buy essential goods. Between 200,000 and 700,000 Palestinians crossed over to Egypt and bought items at shops at the Egyptian half of Rafah
Rafah
Rafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
and the North Sinai Governorate's capital, Arish. A Palestinian security guard later told The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
that militants had been steadily cutting through the base of the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier
Israeli Gaza Strip barrier
The Israel and Egypt − Gaza Strip barrier is a separation barrier first constructed by Israel in 1994 between the Gaza Strip and Israel. An addition to the barrier was finished in 2005 to separate the Gaza Strip and Egypt....
with oxyacetylene torches for months.
While Egypt allowed Palestinians to enter Egypt, it did not let them travel very far; Palestinians were not allowed to travel further than Arish. Egypt said that it would not use force to send back Palestinians. Foreign ministry
Foreign relations of Egypt
Egypt's foreign policy operates along a non-aligned level. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in the Middle East, Africa, and within the Non-Aligned Movement as a...
spokesman Hossam Zaki said the border would be closed again when all the Palestinians had returned.
Ahmed Yousef
Ahmed Yousef
Ahmed Yousef is a senior adviser to Gaza's Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.-Bibliography:-References:...
, a senior adviser to Gaza's Prime Minister Ismail Haniya
Ismail Haniya
Ismail Haniyeh ; is a senior political leader of Hamas and one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority, the matter being under political and legal dispute. He became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won...
, warned that "The next time there is a crisis in the Gaza Strip, Israel will have to face half a million Palestinians who will march toward Erez
Erez Crossing
The Erez Crossing is a pedestrian/cargo terminal on the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier. It is located in the northern end of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Israel.It is part of a complex formerly including the Erez Industrial Park....
," a border crossing with Israel, and on to towns left during the 1948 Palestinian exodus
1948 Palestinian exodus
The 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
. Israeli security officials said militants had exploited the breach in the border wall to send armed men into the Sinai to infiltrate Israel across the Sinai-Israel border
Borders of Israel
Israel's borders are the borders of the State of Israel. The borders have changed from time to time with developments in Israel's military and diplomatic situation. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, the Gaza Strip and Egypt on the...
. The officials said the militants were eager to hit back in response to Israeli attacks in recent weeks and predicted attacks from Sinai within the next two weeks.
On January 25 Egyptian security forces blocked almost all illegal entry
Illegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...
points along the border with Gaza to try to stem the flow of Palestinians wanting to leave. Egyptian forces in riot gear erected barbed wire and chain-link fences along the border to prevent more Palestinians from crossing. Palestinians attempted to break through, and several were injured in the resulting clashes.
After the repair, Palestinians used a bulldozer to knock over the new fence, creating an opening once more. As the border crossings entered their fifth day, Egyptian border police began stopping Gazans from entering in vehicles and blocked off the road beyond Rafah to Arish. In Rafah there was little left to buy, and it appeared Egypt had decided to restrict the resupply of goods to El Arish and Rafah in order to peacefully end the crossings and reestablish control over the border.
On January 28, Egyptian security forces and Hamas militants strung barbed wire across one of the breaches, sealing it off. The Egyptians began repairing one of the two remaining breaches on January 29.
UN reaction
The United Nations Human Rights CouncilUnited Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
condemned Israel for the 15th time in less than two years on January 24. The Council released a statement calling on Israel to stop its military operations in Gaza and to open the Strip's borders to allow the entry of food, fuel and medicine. It asked the international community to ensure that Israel stop its actions in Gaza, which it referred to as "collective punishment
Collective punishment
Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions...
of the Palestinian civilians that leads to disastrous humanitarian and environmental consequences."
An official resolution was presented by Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Upon the groups's renaming, some sources provided the English-language translation "Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation", but and have since indicated the preferred English translation omits the "the". is an international organisation consisting of 57...
to the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
but could not be agreed upon. Thirty nations voted in favor of the resolution, one (Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) voted against the resolution, 15 countries abstained, and one (Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
) was absent. Both Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boycotted the proceedings, which ended with a call for Israel to lift its siege of Gaza but made no mention of the Palestinian rocket attacks on communities in the western Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
.
Israel government response
Israel demanded Egypt reseal the border and launched air strikes against the Gazan half of RafahRafah
Rafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
overnight on January 24, killing Mohammed Abu Harb, the commander of Hamas's military there.
At a court hearing on 27 January, the Israeli government promised to resume supplies of fuel, but not at normal levels, for another week. Later that day, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
promised that Israel would no longer disrupt the supply of food, medicine and necessary energy into the Gaza Strip. Israel then launched additional air strikes targeting the Gazan military in Rafah, but there were no injuries.
Border control talks
Ehud OlmertEhud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
, the Israeli prime minister, and 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...
, President
President of the Palestinian National Authority
The President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority ....
of the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
which controls the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, held talks on 27 January in Jerusalem on the border breach. Abbas reportedly wants to take over Gaza's border crossings, including the one with Egypt that Palestinians in Gaza breached, but Israel resisted the idea of giving the West Bank-based government control of the Gaza crossings, citing concerns about security.
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...
and Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
, who controlled Gaza before the last election, have accepted an invitation from 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...
to hold separate talks in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
on the border crisis. All sides hoped to create a plan to keep the border between Egypt and Gaza open. A Hamas delegation also met with Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal who has acted as a mediator between Hamas and Fatah.
An Israeli defense delegation secretly visited Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
on 28 January and discussed the situation with top Egyptian officials the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based Asharq Alawsat
Asharq Alawsat
Asharq Al-Awsat is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted for its distinctive green-tinted pages....
newspaper reported. According to the report, the delegation relayed to Egypt Israel's fears that Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria Area is the official Israeli term roughly corresponding to the territory usually known outside Israel as the West Bank and to the Israeli settlements there that are not governed as part of Jerusalem.-Terminology:...
and 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...
would smuggle weapons and explosives through Egypt's open border with the Gaza Strip. The Egyptians stressed that Israel was the one responsible for the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip and the eventual breaching of the border wall.
Hamas stated they would accept a return of the EU monitoring mission if it were to reside in Egypt or the Gaza Strip, as opposed to being based in Israel.
Closure of border
The border was closed by Egypt with Hamas's cooperation, except for travelers returning home, on 3 February.Economic effects
In Arish alone, Gazans spent some US$250 million over five days. Palestinians and Egyptians complained about soaring prices and shortages, especially of food. Enormous demand for staple products from Gaza caused rampant inflationInflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
, as did the Egyptian government's decision to restrict goods coming into the border region in an effort to encourage the Palestinians to go back home. Palestinians also accused Egyptians of price gouging
Price gouging
Price gouging is a pejorative term referring to a situation in which a seller prices goods or commodities much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. In precise, legal usage, it is the name of a crime that applies in some of the United States during civil emergencies...
, where prices have risen to the point where the cost of goods is suffiently high that supply matches demand.
The breach created tens of thousands of new jobs in Gaza where the returning caravans set up shop; unemployment had been at 40 percent. Egyptian merchants also crossed into the Gaza Strip to sell their wares. The food brought in from Egypt during the first six days would last Gazans three months, fuel about two days and cement for two weeks if the borders are resealed, according to various estimates from economists, business leaders and gas station owners.
However, were the border to remain open long term, Gaza's workers and manufacturers who had worked in the more upscale Israeli market
Economy of Israel
The economy of Israel is a technologically advanced market economy, including a rapidly-developing high-tech and service sectors. As of 2010, Israel has the 24th largest economy in the world, and ranks 15th among 169 world nations on the UN's Human Development Index, which places it in the category...
before layoffs during the Second Intifada would have trouble competing in Egypt's low-wage economy
Economy of Egypt
The economy of Egypt was highly centralized under President Gamal Abdel Nasser. In the 1990s, a series of International Monetary Fund arrangements, coupled with massive external debt relief resulting from Egypt's participation in the Gulf War coalition, helped Egypt improve its macroeconomic...
, according to West Bank economist Nasser Abdel Karim.
International response
- TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
offered to send aid to Egypt to alleviate the effects of the breach. - U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
condemned Hamas for delivering "misery" to the Palestinian people, and called for talks to create a Palestinian state. - The EU said it would consider sending its monitors
European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah
The European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah is, after the European Union Police Mission for the Gaza Strip , the EU's second Civilian Crisis Management Mission in the Gaza Strip. It is situated at the Rafah Border Crossing on the Palestinian-Egyptian border...
back to Gaza's border with Egypt, and unveiled a new plan for getting aid to Palestinians.
See also
- Blockade of the Gaza Strip
- Israeli-Palestinian conflictIsraeli-Palestinian conflictThe Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
- Political status of the West Bank and Gaza StripPolitical status of the West Bank and Gaza StripThe political status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is one of the most violently disputed issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Various conferences and negotiations have been conducted to determine the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip .The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on...
- Governance of the Gaza StripGovernance of the Gaza StripThe Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas after Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 and ousted Fatah officials as part of the Battle of Gaza . Hamas' political and military rival, Fatah, controls the West Bank. Both regimes regard themselves as the sole legitimate...