Political and military analysts believe that the clash that occurred between the two armies Egyptian AndIsraeli With a crossing Rafah The border crossing may be an attempt by the Israeli occupation to escape its predicament in southern Rafah Gaza stripAnd to divert attention from the massacre he committed yesterday, Sunday.
Earlier, it was announced that there was an exchange of fire between the Egyptian and Israeli army at the Rafah crossing. Reports varied about its outcome, as Israeli media reported that the incident resulted in the death of an Egyptian soldier, while other media reported that two were killed, with no casualties. The Israeli side.
Speaking to the program “Gaza… What’s Next?”, Dr. Muhannad Mustafa, an expert on Israeli affairs, believes that this operation may be an attempt at harassment by the occupation in Egypt, in order to divert attention from its massacre in Rafah yesterday, by creating a political crisis and restarting the public discussion about it. Rafah Crossing after it became an international issue related to the humanitarian aspect.
This incident comes the day after an Israeli massacre following the bombing of the tents of displaced persons in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, causing the death of 35 martyrs – including women and children – and the injury of dozens, which targeted a camp for displaced persons near the warehouses of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA).UNRWA) near the Tal Al-Sultan area.
Mustafa pointed out that the talk inside Israel before the military operation in Rafah was about a military failure, but after entering Rafah the talk became about a strategic failure regarding the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.
Not interested in escalation
Mustafa believes that Israel is not interested in escalating tension with Egypt, but it aspires to coordinate its military operations with Egypt, by obtaining Egyptian approval for the continuation of this operation, adding that for Israel the agreement with Egypt is an existential agreement, while subsequent agreements with Arab countries do not have the same nature.
Mustafa points out that the Rafah operation was framed in Israeli discourse as representing an overwhelming victory, but they did not expect to be immersed in it and to be involved in all the predicaments put together. The first was humanitarian, related to the entry of aid and holding them responsible for that, and the second was international, related to the decision of the International Court of Justice, and it did not save… No prisoner yet.
In turn, Major General Mohamed Abdel Wahed, an expert in national security affairs, considers what happened to be a turning point, but it is important to wait for the results of the investigations, as only clashes and shooting from both sides and the fall of an Egyptian soldier have been confirmed so far.
The Egyptian expert believes that the Israeli media is in a state of chaos and rushing to transmit the news, as it was claimed that the Egyptian soldier was the one who fired first, but the Egyptian side is keen to wait for the results of the investigations that will reveal many things, including the real motives and goals behind this operation.
In this context, he pointed out that since the 1980s, it had been agreed that the investigations would be joint, in light of the two parties’ keenness to preserve the peace agreement signed between them, expecting the situation to be contained if it turned out to be an individual incident without motives that constituted a danger.
Geopolitical conflict
The expert in national security affairs believes that this incident may have a hate dimension, adding that the war in Gaza is part of an international geopolitical conflict in the region. There is an international coalition fighting the resistance, and international participation and generous American support justify all mistakes. Israel In all international forums, as he put it.
As for Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, the military and strategic expert, he believes that the Egyptian warning against the invasion of Rafah could have had a greater impact if Egypt had employed the elements of its national power, the most important of which is the military force, pointing out that what is required is to employ that force indirectly, which gives the political leader the ability To impose dictates on the other side.
Al-Duwairi believes that this factor was not employed adequately, which led to partial disdain by the Israeli occupation prime minister. Benjamin Netanyahu And the Israeli right, when talking about the Battle of Rafah, did not mention the Egyptian position clearly and clearly.
He pointed out that Gaza originally belonged to Egypt, and it was ceded to it in the coexistence agreement in 1967, which requires Egypt to have a supportive position based on the available elements of power, adding that “the current Egyptian position is not proportional to Egypt’s size and capabilities.”