Rafah Border Crossing
Rafah Border Crossing معبر رفح | |
---|---|
Gaza–Egypt border | |
Locale | Egyptian Rafah Palestinian Rafah |
Maintained by | IAA (until 2005) EUBAM (2005—2007) Egyptian Border Guard Corps |
Location | |
The Rafah Border Crossing (
Rafah Land Port
The "Rafah Land Port" became[
A new "Rafah Crossing Point",[dubious ] also named in Arabic "Al Awda" (The Return),[5] was built south of the town of Rafah.
The current Salah al-Din Gate, a commercial border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, was first opened in 2018 and is used by trucks.[6][7]
History
1906 Ottoman-British border agreement
By the Ottoman–British agreement of 1 October 1906, a border between Ottoman-ruled Palestine and British-ruled Egypt, from Taba to Rafah, was agreed upon.[8]
1948–1979: Egypt and Israel at war
From 1948, Gaza was occupied by Egypt. Consequently, a Gaza–Egypt border no longer existed. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel conquered both the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, both becoming occupied territories.
1982–2005: Israel-Egypt border at Rafah
In 1979,
2005: Israel disengages; Egypt-Palestinian border
On 16 February 2005, the Israeli parliament approved the
On 7 September 2005, Israel withdrew from Gaza and closed the Rafah crossing.
2005 Agreement on Movement and Access
Under the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing, part of the
The Agreed Principles for Rafah stipulate that "Rafah will also be used for export of goods to Egypt".[13] A confidential PLO document reveals that in fact Egypt under President Hosni Mubarak did not allow exports.[14] The Palestinians agreed that all imports of goods are diverted to the Kerem Shalom border crossing, because Israel threatened to exclude Gaza from the customs union out of concern about the implementation of the Paris Protocol. On the other hand, the Palestinians agreed because they wanted to limit Israeli interference at Rafah and maximize their sovereignty. Diversion via Kerem was meant as a temporary measure but in fact, imports through Rafah were never realized, forcing the Palestinians to develop a smuggling tunnels economy. Israel had consistently tried to turn the Kerem Shalom border crossing (which borders Egypt) into a commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel, or as an alternative passenger crossing to Rafah. The Palestinians were concerned that Israel would take control over the Gaza-Egypt border or even replace Rafah and objected.[14]
On 26 November 2005, the crossing was opened for the first time under the European Union's supervision, while the Israeli army kept a video watch from a nearby base and retained control over the movement of all goods and trade in and out of Gaza.[11]
From 2018 onward, goods regularly entered Gaza from Egypt via the Rafah crossing.[15] In October 2022, about 49% of goods entering Gaza entered from Egypt via Rafa, while the other 51% of goods enter Gaza via Israel.[15] About three-quarters of goods imported via Rafah consisted of construction materials, while much of the remaining one-quarter was food.[15]
During the
Statistics
After the Israeli disengagement in 2005, the monthly average number of entries and exits through Rafah Crossing reached about 40,000. After the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006, the crossing was closed 76% of the time and after Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip it was closed permanently except for infrequent limited openings by Egypt.[17]
From June 2010 to January 2011, the monthly average number of exits and entries through Rafah reached 19,000. After May 2011, when Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak was replaced with Mohamed Morsi, the number grew to 40,000 per month. When Morsi was deposed by the army in July 2013, the Crossing was again almost completely shut down.
In August 2014, for the first time since the start of the Gaza blockade in 2007 Egypt allowed the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to bring food through the Rafah crossing. It provided food to feed around 150,000 people for 5 days.[18] In 2014, an average of 8,119 exits and entries of people were recorded at the crossing monthly. In September 2015, it was circa 3,300, while the Gaza population numbered 1.8 million people.[17] Between 24 October 2014 and September 2015, the crossing had been opened for only 34 days.[19]
Closures of the border
2005 to 2007
From November 2005 to July 2007, the Rafah Crossing was jointly controlled by Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, with the European Union monitoring Palestinian compliance on the Gaza side.[20] The Crossing operated daily until June 2006. Israel issued security warnings, thus preventing European monitors from travelling to the terminal. The Hamas-led PA Government threatened on 23 June to terminate the Rafah border-crossing agreement if the border would not be reopened.[21] On 25 June 2006, terrorists attacked the Kerem Shalom Crossing Point and captured the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The Crossing was infrequently reopened after this attack.[22]
On 12 February 2007, PLO Negotiatior Saeb Erekat complained in a letter to the Israeli Government and the Head of the EU Mission about Israel, closing the Rafah Crossing Point (RCP) on most days by indirect measures, such as "preventing access by the EU BAM to the RCP through Kerem Shalom".[23] A 2007 Palestinian background paper mentions the EU concern over crises, "most often caused by the continual Israeli closure of the Crossing".[14] On 7 May 2007, the issue of the Israeli closure of Rafah and Kerem as well was raised at a Coordination and Evaluation meeting. The movement of ambulances via Rafah was prohibited. The EU BAM proposed the use of "shuttle" ambulances at the Crossing, requiring two additional transfers of the patients between the ambulances.[24]
In June 2007, the Rafah Crossing was closed by the Egyptian authorities after Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip. Due to the lack of security the EU monitors pulled out of the region, and Egypt agreed with Israel to shut down the Rafah Crossing.[9] The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has declared that the Rafah Crossing should remain closed until the control by the Palestinian Presidential Guard is restored.[25]
2007 to 2010
On 22 January 2008, after Israel imposed a total closure on all crossings to the Gaza Strip, a group of Hamas demonstrators attempted to force open the door of the Rafah Crossing. They were beaten back by Egyptian police and gunfire erupted. That same night, Hamas demolished a 200 metres (660 ft) length of the metal border wall with explosives. After the resulting
On 27 June 2009, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya proposed a joint Palestinian, Egyptian and European mechanism to keep the Rafah border crossing working permanently. He said: "We welcome the presence of European inspectors, the Egyptians and the Palestinian Presidential Guard in addition to the presence of the (Hamas) government in Gaza".[31]
According to a 2009 report of Gisha, Israel continued to exercise control over the border through its control of the Palestinian population registry, which determines who is allowed to go through Rafah Crossing. It also had the power to use its right to veto the passage of foreigners, even when belonging to the list of categories of foreigners allowed to cross, and to decide to close the crossing indefinitely. [25]
Gisha has blamed Israel for keeping the Rafah Crossing closed through indirect means and Egypt for submitting to Israeli pressure and not cooperate with the Hamas government. Hamas, however was blamed for not allowing the Presidential Guard to apply the AMA agreement. The Palestinian Authority was blamed for its refusal to compromise with Hamas over control of Rafah Crossing. The EU monitoring force was criticized for its submission to Israel's demands for closing the border, without calling for re-opening. The US was criticized for allowing human rights violations caused by the closure and avoiding pressure on Egypt.[25]
2011 to 2013
The Egyptian government under former President Mubarak had opposed the Hamas administration in Gaza and helped Israel to enforce the blockade.
In mid-June 2011 the crossing was closed for several days and after that only a few hundred were allowed to cross each day compared with 'thousands' who applied to cross each day. Egypt reportedly agreed to allow a minimum of 500 people to cross each day.[38]
In July 2013, in the aftermath of the
2013 to 2020
After the
On 22 January 2015, Egypt closed the border crossing.
However, Egypt still has occasionally allowed supplies to cross into Gaza via the Rafah Crossing, such as diesel fuel for Gaza's power plant in 2017[45] and gas in 2018.[46]
In May 2018, Egyptian authorities opened the crossing, permitting a couple hundred Gazans per day to cross into Egypt. As of July 2019, tens of thousands have reportedly done so, departing to destinations in the
In March 2020, Palestinian authorities closed the crossing to limit the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 to the Gaza Strip.[48]
In early November 2020, Egyptian authorities closed the crossing to vehicles and commodities after monitoring violations by Hamas.[49][50]
2021 to present
In February 2021, Egypt opened the crossing "indefinitely" for the first time in years in what was described as an effort to encourage negotiations between Palestinian factions meeting at the time in Cairo.[51][52] The crossing was kept open during and after the 11-day Israel-Hamas conflict in May, delivering aid and construction materials. Egypt closed the crossing on 23 August 2021 following an escalation of cross-border incidents between Israel and Hamas,[51] but partially reopened the crossing three days later, allowing traffic from Egypt to Gaza (but not vice versa).[53]
In October 2023 with the start of the
See also
- Philadelphi Route
- Gaza–Israel barrier
- Kerem Shalom border crossing
References
- ^ "Rafah border crossing: could Egypt open it to fleeing Palestinians? | Israel-Hamas war | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
It is the only border not directly controlled by Israel, but the approval of Israeli authorities is still required for supplies to enter Gaza from Egypt.
- ^ The Rafah Crossing: A Gateway to Hope? Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Asharq Al-Awsat, 9 February 2008
- ^ Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, No. 39/2009. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, 8 October 2009
"At approximately 01:35, Israeli fighter jets dropped 3 bombs on Salah al-Din Gate on the Egyptian border, south of Rafah, allegedly to destroy tunnels." - ^ RAFAH Access and Closure | December 2014 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. OCHA, 3 July 2015. Here available Archived 2015-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Times of Israel. Posted and accessed 7 Dec 2023.
- ^ New Gaza Crossing Raises Questions About Blockade Policies, Neri Zilber for The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 23 Oct 2019. Accessed 7 Dec 2023.
- ^ a b The Evolution of the Egypt-Israel Boundary: From Colonial Foundations to Peaceful Borders, pp. 3, 9, 18. Nurit Kliot, Boundary and Territory Briefing, Volume 1 Number 8. Also part. at Google books
- ^ a b c Gaza: The Basics. Some history and background on the Gaza Strip. Nina Rastogi, Slate, 25 January 2008
- ^ Cinderella in Rafah. Al-Ahram, Issue No. 761, 22–28 September 2005
- ^ a b Landmark day on Gaza-Egypt border. BBC, 26 November 2005
- ^ A New Reality on the Egypt-Gaza Border (Part I): Contents of the New Israel-Egypt Agreement. Brooke Neuman, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 19 September 2005
- ^ a b Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing Archived 2015-07-16 at the Wayback Machine. 15 November 2005.
″The PA will notify the GoI 48 hours in advance of the crossing of a person in the excepted categories...The GoI will respond within 24 hours with any objections and will include the reasons for the objections;...On a case-by-case basis, the PA will consider information on persons of concern provided by the GoI. The PA will consult with the GoI and the 3rd party prior to the PA making a decision to prohibit travel or not.″
″Rafah will also be used for export of goods to Egypt.″ - ^ a b c Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA)–Background & update, April 2007; pp. 4-5, . Document by PLO's NSU from the Palestine Papers. Here available
- ^ a b c Movement in and out of Gaza: update covering October 2022, United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
- ^ "What is the Rafah crossing? Border between Gaza Strip, Egypt closed amid Israel-Hamas war | abc7chicago.com". abc7chicago.com. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ a b Movement of people via Rafah Crossing. Gisha, accessed October 2015
- ^ WFP Humanitarian Convoy Delivers Food To Gaza Through Egypt's Rafah Crossing. WFP, 27 August 2014
- ^ Gaza crossings’ operations status:monthly update Archived 2015-10-28 at the Wayback Machine. OCHAoPt, September 2015. Here available Archived 2015-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ FAQs Archived 2015-11-18 at the Wayback Machine. EU BAM Rafah. Accessed September 2015
- ^ Hamas threatens to end Rafah deal. Al Jazeera, 23 June 2006
- ^ "The Agreement on Movement and Access One Year On" (PDF). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. November 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-05.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ February 12, 2007 - Erekat Letter to Pistolese and Dangot Re: Rafah Crossings. Letter from Saeb Erekat to GoI and EU BAM Rafah, 12 February 2007. Here available
- ^ NSU Talking Points for EUBAM Rafah 7th CEC Meeting. Palestine Papers. Here available
- ^ a b c Rafah Crossing: Who Holds the Keys?, pp. 23-25, 136, 143-, 160-, 167-, 170- 174-. Noga Kadman, Gisha, March 2009. Here available
- ^ "At Gaza border with Egypt, masses make reverse exodus into Sinai". Haaretz. 2008-01-25.
- ^ "UN fails to agree on Gaza statement". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 2008-01-25. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008.
- ^ "Militants blow up Rafah barrier". World News Australia. 2008-01-24. Archived from the original on February 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ "Egypt blocks Palestinian 'exodus' in Gaza". AsiaNews. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ Kershner, Isabel (2008-02-04). "New York Times: Israeli Defense Minister to Stay in Olmert Coalition". The New York Times. Israel. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ Hamas proposes shared mechanism to operate Rafah crossing. Xinhua, 27 June 2009
- ^ a b Gaza-Egypt border crossing to open permanently. BBC, 29 April 2011
- ^ Egypt reopens border with Gaza. Kevin Flower, CNN, 28 May 2011
- ^ Egypt eases blockade at Gaza's Rafah border. BBC, 28 May 2011
- ^ a b PA Consent on Opening Gaza Crossing Led to Hamas Reconciliation. Jack Khoury, Haaretz, 26 May 2011
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (2011-05-28). "Egypt Reopens Border With Gaza". The New York Times.
- ^ "Egypt permanently opens Gaza border crossing". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. 2011-05-28.
- ^ Rafah crossing reopened after 4 days of Hamas-Egypt rift. Xinhua, 8 June 2011
- ^ Rafah crossing closed after Egypt violence. Al Jazeera, 15 August 2013
- ^ a b c d Egypt won't open Rafah crossing if Hamas controls it. Dia Khalil, al-Araby, 6 March 2015
- ^ ‘Egypt ready to train PA presidential guards to man Rafah Crossing’. Times of Israel, 3 September 2014
- ^ Palestinians, Europeans support reopening Rafah crossing. Daoud Kuttab, Al-Monitor, 20 August 2014
- ^ a b c Can Gaza's Islamic Jihad ease tensions with Egypt?. Asmaa al-Ghoul, Al-Monitor, 16 March 2015
- ^ a b Deal to open Rafah crossing ′close′. Ma'an News Agency, 7 March 2015
- ^ ‘Egypt sends fuel for Gaza's only power plant as Hamas links thaw’. Reuters, 21 June 2017
- ^ ‘Egypt comes to rescue as Israel cuts off Gaza gas’. Al-Monitor, 14 August 2018
- ^ Bashir, Abu Bakr; Estrin, Daniel. "'I Want To Get The Hell Out Of Here': Thousands Of Palestinians Are Leaving Gaza". NPR. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ Rasgon, Adam. "Hamas-run Gaza government shuts Egypt crossing to travelers amid virus crisis". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ "Egypt closes Rafah crossing after monitoring violations by Hamas". Arab News. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ "Hamas 'transgressions' result in Rafah border crossing closing off to vehicles, commodities". EgyptToday. 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ a b "Egypt closes Rafah border crossing to Gaza after Israel-Hamas escalation". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. August 23, 2021.
- ^ "Egypt 'indefinitely' opens Rafah border crossing with Gaza Strip". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ Egypt partially reopens Rafah border crossing with Gaza, Al Jazeera (August 26, 2021).
- ^ Summer Said, Egypt Denies Passage of Foreigners Through Rafah Without Aid Agreement, Wall Street Journal (October 15, 2023).
- ^ a b Nadeen Ebrahim, The last remaining exit for Gazans is through Egypt. Here's why Cairo is reluctant to open it, CNN (October 15, 2023).
- ^ Anna Betts, American Citizens Fleeing Gaza Say Border Crossing Still Closed, New York Times (October 14, 2023).
- ^ Humeyra Pamuk, US advises its citizens in Gaza to move closer to Egypt's Rafah crossing, Reuters (October 14, 2023).
- ^ Canadians still trapped in Gaza as Rafah-crossing exit agreement falls through, Globe & Mail (October 15, 2023).
- Ahram Online. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ Camut, Nicolas (2023-10-21). "Aid enters Gaza as Rafah border crossing opens". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "At least 320 foreign nationals and some wounded leave Gaza for Egypt". REUTERS. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
External links
- Movement of people via Rafah Crossing. Statistics from Gisha
- Gaza tourism companies call on Sisi to open Rafah crossing Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine. MEMO, 29 February 2016