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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel and Egypt move to stop arms into Gaza |
| 2009-01-24 |
| (AKI) - Israel and Egypt have taken steps to increase security and stop arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The move came amid unconfirmed claims that Israelis are also smuggling arms into the Palestinian territories from Israel. Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, defence minister Ehud Barak and foreign minister Tzipi Livni approved new security arrangements at a cabinet meeting late Thursday, following recent talks with officials in Cairo to address the issue. The Israeli cabinet measures include the creation of possible checkpoints in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, as well as moves to prevent smuggling boats from docking at Port Said. Livni and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently signed a memorandum of understanding intended to stop the ruling Hamas movement from rearming in Gaza and to stop arms smuggling. The memorandum outlines the appropriate measures to be taken by the US, Egypt and other countries. The technical details of the proposed arrangements were endorsed during recent discussions between Amos Gilad, a top Israeli defence official, and officials in Cairo, including intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. Meanwhile, the secretary-general of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights, Mukhlis Qutub, said that Egypt has proof of weapons smuggling from Israel to Gaza and said there was evidence that Israeli soldiers sold weapons from army depots. "Egypt has documented proof of the existence of arms smuggling from Israel to the Palestinian territories ," said Qutub in an interview with the pro-government Egyptian daily al-Ahram. "We also know of weapons that come from the Israeli army depots sold to the Palestinians by Israeli soldiers." One of the requests in the memorandum of understanding between Israel and the US is a ground penetrating radar or GPR, to detect tunnels, as well as supervision to stop the alleged smuggling of arms from Iran. Israel has also allowed Egypt to increase the number of border guards along the Gaza-Egypt frontier by up to 1,500, said a senior Israeli political source quoted by Israeli daily, Haaretz. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 You'd have to fire all egyptian "Border Guards, and hire people who can't be bribed, Oh wait, this is Egypt, ANYBODY can be bribed. |
| Posted by: Rednek Jim 2009-01-24 13:14 |
| #1 Egypt could find all the tunnel entraces on the Rafah side of the border in an afternoon. The fact they don't is because they don't want to. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2009-01-24 03:01 |