Highlights:
− Egyptian security forces attempt to stop supplies from reaching towns near the Rafah border crossing
− Thousands of Palestinians without entry visas to Egypt were rounded up near the Suez Canal and Cairo, while others carrying arms and explosives were arrested in other areas in Egypt
− With the recent threats against the regime and the history of explosives unearthed near the Gaza-Egypt border, it is likely that the government will expedite their efforts to reseal the border and boost security measures around the country
On January 28, 2008, six days after the breach of the Gaza-Egypt border, Egyptian security officials focused on resealing the wall, dividing the two areas. Teaming up with Hamas militants, Egyptian security forces strung up barbed wire and a chain-linked fence across one of the openings as a signal that the open border was coming to an end .
After finding thousands of Palestinians without entry visas and a number of others arrested for possessing weapons and explosives, government forces have continued targeting Palestinians who have stripped the border towns of food and other supplies. The Egyptian government has been dealing with a number of national security threats from oppositional groups sympathetic to the Palestinians and from terrorist-linked groups in recent days (Previous Report).
In an effort to reassert order and stability in the county, the Egyptian government will take severe strides to deter Palestinians from entering into Egypt, as well as enforce stricter security measures to return Palestinians back to Gaza.
Palestinians Apprehended and Arrested in Egypt
Over the last week, Egyptian security forces have struggled to control the Palestinian mob that flooded into Egypt in a desperate shopping spree for food, medicine and fuel. However, people living in the border town of al Arish have worried that they will run out of food and supplies, an occurrence that has come true in recent days. In a desperate effort to force Palestinians to return to Gaza, the government has ordered all the shops in al Arish to close. The prices of goods and services have skyrocketed in the past week and proprietors have literally run out of goods, creating panic and fear in the border town.
In Cairo, according to several local residents, Palestinians staying in hotels were evicted and deported to Gaza on microbuses. In addition, thousands of Palestinians attempting to enter provinces near Cairo and the Suez Canal without appropriate visas were rounded up and sent back to the border. However, the most threatening development for Egypt is the number of Palestinians who were arrested over the past week found carrying arms and explosives in other areas of the country.
Forecast: Strict Security and Potentially Violent Civil Unrest
The current instability in the Gaza-Egypt border area has only added to the pressures and stresses of an already pre-existing threat near the Rafa border crossing. For years, the Egyptian government and Israel have struggled with the smuggling of explosives and weapons through underground tunnels from the Sinai into the Gaza Strip (Previous Report). However, the recent arrests of Palestinians in Egypt carrying explosives and weapons has turned the once sympathetic Egyptian government back to its hard-line ways, forcefully escorting Palestinians back to Gaza. Egypt has even publicly stated its desire of wanting the Palestinian Authority forces under President Mahmoud Abbas to control its border crossing, therefore excluding Hamas, which has run the border territory since June 2007.
In light of these developments and aspirations, it is likely that civilian unrest will turn violent, as pro-Palestinian Egyptians are torn regarding whom to support. Since the price of goods has soared due to the influx of Palestinians and shop owners have had to close down their only means of business and income, tensions have been high among Egyptians, especially those living in al Arish.
To compensate for such a volatile period, Egyptian security officials will be forced to boost security measures around the border. As such, the situation in the Rafa crossing and border areas is likely to remain unstable in the interim and into the mid-term.
