Israeli Channel 12 reported - today, Sunday - that the occupation army intends to rebuild the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in a new location near the Kerem Shalom crossing, where the Israeli-Egyptian border meets.

The channel stated that there will be a joint role for Israel, Egypt, the Palestinians and the Americans in managing the new crossing.

The channel also indicated that the Israeli army also intends to expand the buffer zone along 14 kilometers of the Philadelphia axis to destroy tunnels and preserve what it described as its “achievements” in Rafah, south of the Strip.

She explained that the goal of establishing this zone is “to preserve the freedom of action of the Israeli army against the tunnels leading to Egypt and to thwart smuggling operations.”

Tactical pull

It also stated that Israeli estimates indicate that the Rafah military operation has now reached a situation that allows the occupation forces to be tactically withdrawn without compromising what it described as the “achievement” it achieved in the region.

It is noteworthy that Israeli Army Radio had announced in mid-June that the Rafah border crossing was no longer usable after the Palestinian side of it was completely destroyed.

A video clip published by the radio showed the massive destruction caused by the Israeli occupation army at the crossing, where the main hall appears to have been leveled to the ground, in addition to the destruction of the surrounding buildings.

On May 7, the Israeli army took control of the crossing, a day after Tel Aviv announced the start of a military operation in the city of Rafah, which was crowded with displaced people, ignoring international warnings about the repercussions.

As for the Philadelphia axis, the occupation army completed its control over it on June 7, days after it took control of the border strip between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

The Philadelphia Axis, or the Salah al-Din Axis, is a border strip between Egypt and the Gaza Strip that extends within the Strip, hundreds of meters wide and 14.5 kilometers long, from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Mediterranean Sea.

This axis is part of the border region that is located within the Palestinian territories and is subject to Israeli control according to the Camp David Accords signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979. But its status was modified according to the Philadelphia Agreement that Israel signed with Egypt in September 2005, after its withdrawal from Gaza.

Under the agreement, which Tel Aviv considers a security annex to the Camp David Agreement and governed by its general principles and provisions, Israel withdrew from the axis and handed it over, along with the Rafah crossing, to the Palestinian Authority.

In 2007, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) took control of Gaza after winning the legislative elections, and the Philadelphia axis came under its control, while Israel imposed a stifling siege on the Strip.

Source: Al Jazeera + Israeli press