Egypt’s Tunnel-Denial Violates Peace Treaty with Israel

 NEW YORK – Pro-Israel groups are criticizing the Egyptian government for its implausible denial that Hamas has been smuggling weapons through the hundreds of tunnels connecting Egypt to Gaza.

    Israel has uncovered vast quantities of weapons that Hamas brought into Gaza from Egypt. Israel’s prime minister has described the Philadelphi Corridor, into which the tunnels open, as “Hamas’s pipeline for oxygen and rearmament.”

    Yet the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on September 3 “firmly rejected” Israel’s statements about the weapons-smuggling, an attempt to “justify aggressive and provocative policies.” (https://www.arabnews.com/node/2570086/middle-east) Last month, Egyptian officials claimed the revelations about the weapons-smuggling are part of a secret Israeli plot to create a “pretext” for “extermination against Palestinians.” (https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/528551.aspx)

    Jonathan Schanzer, senior Vice President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a statement to Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI) that Egypt has permitted Hamas to smuggle weapons because Cairo is being rewarded or threatened by another party, and “the only two entities capable of such payoffs or threats are Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.” There is also a worst-case scenario, Scanzer noted— “that Egypt undertook the decision to run the tunnels because of an ideological hatred for Israel. I shudder to think about that.”

    AFSI National Chairman Moshe Phillips said:

    “It’s outrageous that Egypt has permitted Hamas weapons-smuggling, and then denies that it ever happened.

    “The Israel-Egypt peace treaty of 1979 requires Egypt to ‘ensure that acts or threats of belligerency, hostility, or violence [against Israel] do not originate from and are not committed from within its territory…’ (Article III:2) Egypt’s 300,000-man army certainly is capable of preventing Hamas from smuggling weapons into Gaza from. The Egyptian government’s refusal to do so violates both the letter and the spirit of the peace treaty.

    “Egypt’s policy is also a slap in the face to the United States, which gives Cairo $1.3-billion in aid each year. The weapons that Egypt let into Gaza were used to murder and kidnap Americans, some of whom are still being held hostage. It’s time for the US to demand that Egypt come clean about its relationship with Hamas—or face a loss of US aid.”

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Established in 1970, AFSI is one of the oldest and most influential pro-Israel organizations in the United States. Its advocacy and education campaigns serve as a potent counterweight to the rising tide of Arab propaganda. AFSI is not affiliated with any political party in the United States or Israel.