By Dr. Aaron Lerner
April 26, 2007
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Egypt could make a critical contribution to regional stability by invoking its right of eminent domain to create a 2,000 meter sterile zone on its side of the Sinai-Gaza border.
Why 2,000 meters when Israelis are only talking about widening the Philadelphi Corridor that runs between Egypt and Gaza to 400 meters?
Widening the Philadelphi Corridor to 400 meters will make it considerably harder for gunmen positioned in Rafah buildings to successfully attack redeployed IDF forces operating against the smuggling tunnels in the area.
Adding a 2,000 meter sterile zone on the Egyptian side would radically change the nature of the tunneling operations.
The cost, manpower and equipment needed to run a tunnel undetected spanning such a distance is magnitudes greater than the current tunneling operations, making these projects considerably easier to detect.
Creating such a wide sterile zone on the Gaza side of the border would mean moving many tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians into an even smaller Gaza Strip. In sharp contrast, there are no significant natural barriers preventing Egypt from expanding Egyptian Rafah into the Sinai to accommodate people displaced in the creation of a sterile zone on their side of the border at a fraction of the cost of a similar project in Gaza.
Would Egypt do it?
That's not the operative question.
The operative question is why Israel isn't suggesting it.
Let the Egyptians explain why they are unwilling to implement a project that would facilitate their compliance with their treaty obligations. A project that, if implemented properly, would not only help facilitate regional stability but also improve the lives of Egyptian Rafah residents relocated into new and more spacious accommodations.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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