Crossing Rafah

The recent Israeli massacre in Gaza has resulted in the death, carnage, and destruction that has become a recurring theme for both the Palestinians and Lebanese. The barbaric crimes committed by the Israeli Defense Forces is obvious. What has often been overlooked is the complicity of neighboring Arab states, mainly Egypt, in this unrelenting assault.

Israel and Egypt have enforced the land-sea-air embargo which has been in effect since June 2007--after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. Under the pretext of declaring Hamas a terrorist organization, the war-torn coastal strip has been under a virtual siege for nearly two years. Very little goes in or out of Gaza through official border crossings. Nearly every consumer good from a can of Coke to oil, is smuggled through a series of tunnels along the Egypt-Gaza border. It is essential to the survival of people living in what is commonly referred to as the "world's largest outdoor prison."

The official border gate between Egypt and Gaza is in the town of Rafah. This border has been essentially sealed since the blockade was instituted in 2007--limiting the influx/outflux of both goods and people. Israel reduced the number of commodities allowed in, including foodstuffs such as lentils and macaroni, from 9000 to 20 during this time period. Furthermore, in late 2007, Israel began to cut fuel supplies to this embattled territory. In January of 2008, due to a lack of fuel, the only power plant in Gaza shut down its operations. This led to a breach of the wall at Rafah by Palestinians on January 23, 2008. It is estimated that almost half of the 1.5 Million residents of Gaza crossed into the Egyptian side of Rafah to purchase essential foods, medicines, and other goods of survival.

Crossing the Rafah border into Gaza remains a very difficult task, even for humanitarian aid or medical personnel. During the recent Israeli bombardment of Gaza, civilian refugees of war were not allowed into Egypt to escape air strikes and a looming ground invasion. An overstressed and embargo-weakened medical system was unable to adequately serve the Gazan population in the recent attacks that left over 1300 dead, and 6000 wounded. Egypt allowed a select few of the injured and maimed to cross the Rafah gates, to receive treatment in its own nation. Furthermore, Egypt denied passage for numerous casualties destined for treatment in Europe and abroad. These patients, predominantly children, were turned back to the inadequate care provided by the collapsing Palestinian health system. In addition, the Israeli border was completely closed as well, with an exceptionally limited number of people who even dared to venture near its checkpoints and heavily fortified Apartheid Wall.

To add insult to injury, Egyptian border officials made the entrance of humanitarian aid extremely difficult during this crisis. At the Rafah terminal, numerous international volunteer medical teams waited for weeks to gain entrance to Gaza, if they were allowed in at all. Convoys of donated aid from nations as wide-ranging as Venezuela to the United Arab Emirates, also waited for weeks before being allowed in. The Egyptian enforcement of the Israeli-led blockade undoubtedly led to preventable suffering, hunger, and death of the Palestinian population.

Despite claims of an open border by Egyptian officials--numerous first-hand accounts from American, South African, and Turkish medical teams prove otherwise. A litany of media reports by the international press also documents quite well, the virutal sealing of Rafah. There are a variety of reasons why Egypt may be enforcing this crippling, inhumane policy--covert agreements with the Israelis, US funding to an annual tune of up to $1.7 Billion, fear of populist ideology spreading to Egypt and threatening the established dictatorship, or profiteering from the smuggling industry. This much is clear--the underground tunnels will remain the lifeblood of the Gazan people until Crossing Rafah is no longer a myth, but a reality.