Serene Assir reports on Egypt's role in the siege of Gaza With Egypt hosting separate talks with Hamas and Palestinian Authority (PA) representatives over the course of the past week, the possibility of Cairo defying the renewed siege of Gaza by unilaterally lifting it was confirmed non-existent at this stage. With the Hamas delegation warned in talks in the border city Arish not to repeat the border breach Hamas's armed wing committed late last month, and PA President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) welcomed in Cairo by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Egyptian General Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, Egypt's growing intent on sidelining Hamas contrasted dramatically with its heightened rapprochement with Fatah and the PA. Cairo's stance follows from a media campaign which according to observers was orchestrated by the Egyptian authorities, and was most apparent in state-run newspapers, which depicted last month's border breach as an attempt by the Palestinians to "invade" Egypt, apparently at the same time as an Israeli-machinated plan to expel Gaza's population into the Sinai permanently. Parallel to this strategy was the lack of transparency with which Moussa addressed the question of just what steps Egypt and the Arab League are taking to ensure the siege of Gaza is lifted -- with Gaza apparently taking second place to the Lebanese crisis as far as the league is concerned. "Egypt and Saudi Arabia are working on Gaza," Moussa told Al-Ahram Weekly, refusing however to elaborate on just what the two states are doing to pressure Israel into ending its eight-month-long siege of the Gaza Strip. While Egypt has official diplomatic relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia does not. Meanwhile, Egypt's position that the 2005 US-coordinated agreement governing the Rafah terminal ought to be renewed was reiterated. Under that agreement, Egypt has observer status while the PA, Israel and the European Union are the key signatories. Hamas has argued during a series of talks with Cairo for a renewed agreement which would involve Egypt and the Palestinians alone, though it appears unlikely at this stage that such a demand will be met. "That the border should have any foreign influence makes no sense," said Essam El-Erian, senior Muslim Brotherhood figure whose view naturally corresponds to that of Hamas, given the birth of Hamas from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. "Any border should be controlled by the sovereign peoples on either side." While Israel has had no physical presence in Gaza since its summer 2005 pullout, Rafah border closures have been repeatedly orchestrated with Israel warning EU monitors not to take their posts owing to security concerns. The current closure, which began in June last year shortly before Hamas's takeover of the strip, has been ongoing, with the exception of the temporary breach late last month, and constitutes the longest closure by far. In Cairo, Abu Mazen denied any involvement in maintaining the siege in spite of evidence suggesting the contrary. "As far as the PA is concerned we want the siege lifted now, if not yesterday," he told the Weekly. "We do not dispose of rockets to force the Israelis to lift the siege so we must rely on negotiations." He added he was not interested in acquiring rockets, and that the PA's goal was peace with Israel. Amidst the conflicting interests held by Hamas on the one hand and Egypt and the PA on the other, the population of Gaza have been waiting for a much needed end to the siege, an end whose responsibility legally lies with Israel. As an occupying power, Israel has legal obligations under international humanitarian law not to impose collective punishment on the Palestinians under its effective and actual control. As for Egypt and the PA, attribution in legal terms is arguably more difficult, according to international law professor at the American University in Cairo Elna Sondergaard. "The issue is much more blurred when it comes to Egypt and the PA," she said. "However, it cannot be denied that Egypt and the PA have a moral and political responsibility to do more." That is not to say that Egypt, like other states that have signed on to the Geneva Conventions, does not have the obligation to ensure that Israel does not continue to violate humanitarian law. "Like other High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, Egypt has an obligation to make sure Israel ends its collective punishment of the Gazans," said Joseph Schechla, Cairo-based coordinator of the Housing and Land Rights Network Habitat. At the same time, Mohamed Abdel-Salam, defence expert at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, has denied Israeli media claims that Egypt had beefed up its military presence along the border with Gaza beyond the quota stipulated under the Camp David agreement. "This is not the first time that false news is published in the Israeli media regarding this issue. It is true that Egypt has been seeking an increased presence along the border, but up until the agreement is amended there will be no unilateral increase of troops," Abdel-Salam said.
