Egypt and the Gaza Strip share a long border. There is a buffer zone along the border which is about long.
The Rafah Border Crossing is the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the international border that was confirmed in the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty. Only passage of persons takes place through the Rafah Border Crossing; as such, the Egypt–Gaza border is only open to the passage of people, not of goods. All cargo traffic must go through Israel, usually through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom border crossing on the Gaza–Israel barrier.
Background On 1 October 1906, the Ottoman and British governments agreed on a boundary between Ottoman-ruled Palestine and British-ruled Egypt, running from Taba to Rafah."The Evolution of the Egypt-Israel Boundary: From Colonial Foundations to Peaceful Borders". Pages 3, 9, 18. Nurit Kliot, Boundary and Territory Briefing, volume 1, number 8 (free full-text PDF). A partial preview of the paper is also available through Google Books. Although after World War I, Mandatory Palestine was also under British control, the Egypt–Palestine boundary was maintained to control the movement of the local Bedouin. From 1948, Gaza was occupied by an independent Egypt. Consequently, the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt proper was a mere administrative boundary without border control. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel conquered and occupied the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, and again there was nominal border control.
In 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty that returned the Sinai, which borders the Gaza Strip, to Egyptian control. As part of that treaty, a 100-meter-wide strip of land, known as the Philadelphi Route, was established as a buffer zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. In the peace treaty, the re-created Gaza–Egypt border was drawn across the city of Rafah. When Israel withdrew from the Sinai in 1982, Rafah was divided into Egyptian and Palestinian parts, splitting up families, separated by barbed-wire barriers."Cinderella in Rafah". Al-Ahram, Issue No. 761, 22–28 September 2005
Buffer zone by Israel Under the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty, the Philadelphi Route buffer zone was a 100-meter-wide strip of land along the Gaza–Egypt border. Until 2000, the actual buffer zone was 20–40 meters wide with a 2.5 to 3 metres high concrete wall topped with barbed wire."Razing Rafah — Mass Home Demolitions in the Gaza Strip", pp. 27-28 and 52-66 (PDF text version) on , Summary:. "The report on refworld:". Human Rights Watch (HRW), October 2004
During the Second Intifada, which began in 2000, Israel widened the buffer zone to 200–300 meters and built a barrier wall mostly of corrugated sheet metal, with stretches of concrete topped with barbed wire."We Are No Longer Able to See the Sun". Andrew Rubin, Al Ahram Weekly, 7 July 2007 The construction of the buffer zone required the demolition of entire blocks of houses at the main entrance to Rafah's central thoroughfare.
2001–2003 expansion
Since 2001, the IDF demolished Palestinian houses in Rafah to create the buffer zone. In 2002, hundreds of houses in Rafah were destroyed to widen the buffer zone and for the building of an eight meter high and 1.6 kilometres long metal wall along the border. The wall also extended two meters underground. The wall was built about 80–90 meters from the border, which doubled the width of the patrol corridor. After the metal wall was completed in early 2003, demolitions continued and even increased dramatically.
2004 expansion, Operation Rainbow After the death on 12 May 2004 of five Israeli soldiers who were operating in the buffer zone, the Israel government approved on 13 May a plan to further widen the buffer zone, which would require the demolition of hundreds of homes."High Court to renew debate on IDF house demolitions in Rafah". Haaretz, 14 May 2004 The Israeli military recommended demolishing all homes within 300 meters of its positions, or about 400 meters from the border. The plan elicited strong international criticism.
On 14 May, a large IDF force entered the "Brazil block" of Rafah and in heavy fighting, as reported by unrwa, 12 Palestinians were killed and 52 injured. Israeli forces began demolishing houses in the Qishta neighbourhood and destroyed scores of houses."Supplementary Appeal for Rafah". UNWRA, May 2004 Around midnight the same day, the Israeli High Court of Justice issued an interim order, temporarily barring the IDF from demolishing homes in the refugee camp, if the action was not part of "a regular military operation". Nevertheless, the IDF continued the destruction of homes until 15 May 5:00 a.m. because of "immediate military necessity, a risk to soldiers, or a hindrance to a military operation","Razing Rafah", par. Map 5 : IDF Operations in Rafah May 2004, Box 3 — Destruction in Rafah: Shifting Justifications. HRW, October 2004 raising the number of destroyed houses to just over 100.
On 16 May, the High Court ruled that the IDF may destroy homes according to their needs; the IDF had pledged that it would refrain from unnecessarily demolishing houses."Court rejects petition to prevent further Rafah demolitions". Haaretz, 16 May 2004. On web.archive.org/"The three-member High Court panel said that the IDF was entitled to carry out such demolitions along the Philadelphi route for security reasons, "according to operational needs" or if the military determined that soldiers' lives were in danger.""Rafah residents flee their homes". Maariv, 16 May 2004. On web.archive.org/ The next day, Israel started Operation Rainbow.
On 18 May, the Israel government declared that the plan to widen a buffer zone along the Egyptian border was cancelled,"Demolitions in Gaza to end: Israel tells US" . AFP, 20 May 2004 while the same day the army massively invaded Rafah and continued its large-scale destruction. On 19 May 2004, the United Nations Security Council condemned the killing of Palestinian civilians and the demolition of homes.
Between 1 April 2003 and 30 April 2004, 106 houses were demolished in Rafah.PCHR, "Uprooting Palestinian Trees And Leveling Agricultural Land – The tenth Report on Israeli Land Sweeping and Demolition of Palestinian Buildings and Facilities in the Gaza Strip 1 April 2003 – 30 April 2004" On According to HRW, the IDF's justifications for the destruction were doubtful and rather consistent with the goal of having a wide and empty border area to facilitate long-term control over the Gaza Strip.
2005 expansion An army plan to dig a moat along the border was dropped in 2005 after it became clear that it would likely be rejected by Israel's Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, because it required the destruction of 3,000 more homes in Rafah."Army building new Gaza barrier". Ynet, 14 May 2005"Israel changes anti-smuggling tactics". Associated Press. USA Today, 2 March 2005 Instead, the IDF started the building of a 7–9 meters high (about 20–30 feet) concrete wall along the border in a 60–100 meter (about 200–300 feet) wide security strip, equipped with electronic sensors and underground concrete barriers to prevent tunnelling.
Buffer zone by Egypt 2009 Egyptian steel wall
In December 2009, Egypt started the building of a border barrier along the Gaza border, consisting of a steel wall that would be long and extend below the surface. The wall was planned to be completed in 18 months.Fraser, Christian. Egypt starts building steel wall on Gaza Strip border. Christian Fraser, BBC, 9 December 2009. The project received help from the United States and France.Construction of Egypt's security wall causes collapse of smuggling tunnels, World Tribune 13-01-2010
Egypt reinforced the border with several hundred troops to protect construction crews from Palestinian sniper attacks.
Palestinian sources said that construction of the barrier was damaging dozens of smuggling tunnels as deep as , causing them to collapse on a nearly daily basis and killing operators, especially tunnels near the Rafah border terminal. They added that most of the 1,500 tunnels between Gaza and Egypt remained unaffected. The sources also stated that the project has alarmed the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, which charges an annual $2,500 for the right to operate a tunnel.
Support In 2010, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared support for the barrier, adding: "It is the Egyptians’ sovereign right in their own country. Legitimate supplies should be brought through the legal crossings." The United States announced its support for the barrier saying it would help to prevent weapons smuggling."US supports Egyptian underground barrier on Gaza border". Ynet, 12 January 2010. Cairo's main Al-Azhar University officially backed the government's decision saying that it was the "state's right to build along its walls facilities and obstacles that will enhance its security."
Opposition Militant Islamist group Hamas, the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip, opposed the barrier and called it a "wall of death".
Hassan Nasrallah, chief of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, called on Egypt to halt construction.Hezbollah chief asks Egypt to stop Gaza border wall, Ynet, 27 December 2009
The Islamic Action Front, a Jordanian Islamist group, criticized Egypt for the barrier and accused it of "collaborating" with Israel and the United States. "The Egyptian authorities are ...increasing the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza by building the steel wall and closing the border crossings with Gaza," said Hamzah Mansour, a member of the Shura Council of the Islamic Action Front.IAF slams Egypt's building of steel wall along borders with Gaza, 10-01-2010
A number of prominent Muslim clerics issued edicts against the wall, while Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, voiced his objection to the wall. In January 2010, small protests against the wall were held outside the Egyptian embassies in Jordan and Lebanon.Nahmias, Roee. Arab protests against Egypt's Gaza border wall spread, Ynet, 4 January 2010
In a 2010 Palestinian demonstration along the border, an Egyptian border guard was shot dead and 20 Palestinians were injured from Egyptian fire.Egyptian border guard shot dead at Gaza frontier, Ynet, 6 January 2010
2013–2015 Egyptian demolition of homes and smuggling tunnels In October 2014, Egypt announced that they planned to expand the buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt, following a terrorist attack from Gaza that killed 31 Egyptian soldiers.Egypt begins Gaza border evacuation to create security buffer - Retrieved 29 October 2014 The buffer was created "in a move meant to halt the passage of weapons and militants through cross-border smuggling tunnels but which also puts more pressure on the Palestinian militant Hamas group."
On 29 October 2014, Egypt began demolishing homes on its side of the border with the Gaza Strip as part of a planned buffer zone intended to prevent weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.
Egyptian authorities ordered residents living along the country's eastern border to evacuate their homes prior to their demolishing. The buffer zone was to include water-filled trenches to thwart tunnel diggers. It was to be 500 meters wide and extended along the 13 km border."Egypt to clear residents from Gaza border". Al Jazeera, 29 October 2014 Following the announcement of Ibrahim Mahlab, the Prime Minister of Egypt, that any residents unwilling to move wilfully would be forcefully removed from their homes, many residents left the area."Egypt clears Gaza border area to create security buffer". Reuters, 29 October 2014 On 17 November 2014, Egypt announced that the buffer zone would be doubled to one kilometre, due to the longer-than-expected tunnels that had been discovered."Egypt to expand buffer zone with Gaza after longer tunnels found" - Retrieved 17 November 2014