Israeli Threats to Rafah and the Displaced Palestinians: A Looming Crisis

“Hamas took a hit in the north and in the center, and will soon take a hit in Rafah.” ”This is a statement from Itzik Cohen, one of the commanders of the Israeli army departments in Gaza, to the Israel Public Broadcasting Authority. days ago.

Cohen’s words show Israel’s determination, again in many forms, to attack Hamas’ last stronghold in the Gaza Strip… the border town of Rafah.

Rafah is the last stop for more than a million displaced Palestinians, who have been moving from one “safe area” to another in the Gaza Strip, and are now preparing for a new exodus from after discussing the upcoming Israeli military operation in Rafah.

Ziad, a Palestinian citizen from the Shujaiya district in northern Gaza, was evicted by his family months ago.

Ziad moved from Shuja’iya to Deir al-Balah, and from Deir al-Balah to Khan Yunis in the north, then to Rafah, and now he is currently returning again to Khan Yunis.

Ziad says: “The tent we live in has become tired from the many times we have set up in many places, and we don’t have enough money to move again. “

The story of Ziad’s move is similar to the story of “Talaat Al-Mushtaha,” a Palestinian citizen coming from Gaza City in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. He agreed with him about the problem of moving to another place, after they thought that Rafah would be their last refuge.

He says: “I am the only survivor of my family. I have no choice but to obey orders. If they tell me to move from one place to another, I will obey.”

Civilians represent the biggest obstacle facing Israel in its plans to attack Rafah, according to Dr. HA Hellyer is a senior associate fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Hiller told the BBC: “Netanyahu cannot win in Rafah.

According to Israeli reports, Israel plans to evacuate civilians in Rafah in stages, and local residents will be notified of Israeli army movements in advance if Israel decides to start military operations in Rafah, which the United States, the European Union, Egypt, and many countries in the world have so far publicly opposed it.

Satellite images, confirmed by the BBC, showed rows of tents believed to have been erected at a site west of Khan Yunis and another near the newly built city of Rafah this month. this, in preparation to get the transfer from Rafah if the ground work started.

The United Nations and many relief organizations are warning of a “catastrophic situation” that will leave hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Rafah if the city is attacked.

Heller says: “The military operation will have a major impact on Israel’s relationship with Egypt, with which it has a forty-year peace treaty.”

Egyptian officials fear that any military operation in Rafah will force hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, who are now on its borders, to cross into Egyptian territory.

Israel surrounds the Gaza Strip from all sides except for the southern border, which stretches 14 kilometers from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt categorically rejects any movement, whether voluntary or forced, of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Egypt tightened its measures along Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip, erecting cement walls and barbed wire to prevent displaced Palestinians from entering.

Muhammad Abu Al-Fadl, the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian national newspaper Al-Ahram, believes that Egypt will be the most affected country if military operations take place in Rafah.

Abu Al-Fadl says: “It is impossible for Egypt to accept a military operation in Rafah, because it will directly undermine its national security, so Cairo is trying in various ways to oppose this measure. “

Egyptian officials reiterate that they reject any military activity in Rafah, and emphasize that their current interest is aimed at reaching a ceasefire.

To persuade Israel to abandon the Rafah operation, two Egyptian sources told the BBC that Egypt has submitted a new proposal for a ceasefire that includes a ceasefire​​​​​​ enemies, which will be discussed at a security meeting in Israel.

In addition to the crisis of civil movement, the control of the Philadelphia axis, or what is known as the Salah al-Din axis, represents a crisis that is renewed by all the discussions about the Israeli military activity in Rafah.

Abu Al-Fadl says: “The use of heavy weapons and the permanent occupation of the Philadelphia axis by Israeli forces directly affects the national security of Egypt. “

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained his intention to control the Philadelphia corridor at a press conference several months ago, to stop the smuggling of weapons through to Gaza, as Israel believes.

Egypt categorically denies these accusations and describes them as “false attempts to create legitimacy for the occupation of the Philadelphia Corridor in violation of the security agreements and protocols that was signed by Egypt,” according to the text of a statement issued by the Egyptian State Information Service. .

The “Philadelphia Corridor” is a 14 km border strip that extends along Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south.

It is a buffer zone.