In light of the continued Israeli attack on Rafah, attention has once again turned to the “Philadelphia Axis”, which is seen more than ever as a strategic axis for the “Hamas” movement (which the United States classifies as terrorist), and has been in the crosshairs of the Israeli army regularly since. The beginning of the war in Gaza.
An Israeli army official said on Wednesday that Israeli forces achieved full operational control over the Philadelphia axis between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Israeli National Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, said in statements to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Authority (KAN): “Inside Gaza, the IDF now controls 75 percent of the Philadelphia axis, and I believe that it will control all of it over time. We must, “In cooperation with the Egyptians, we will ensure the prevention of weapons smuggling.” Hanegbi expected that the fighting in Gaza would continue “at least throughout 2024.”
News of the “Israeli Army’s control of the entire Philadelphia axis” raised questions about the impact of this on the fate of the Camp David Treaty between Egypt and Israel.
Relations between Egypt and Israel have witnessed escalating tension in the recent period, the latest of which was, on Monday, the killing of an Egyptian soldier after an exchange of fire with an Israeli force at the border strip in the Rafah area, according to Reuters.
Israel’s recent announcement regarding control of the Philadelphia axis raised questions about whether this step violates the terms of the peace agreement, and whether Egypt is able to suspend it.
What is the Philadelphia hub?
Egypt and Israel fought several wars, the last of which was in 1973, before they signed peace treaty On March 26, 1979, a year after the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978, with American mediation.
The Philadelphia Axis, which is also called the “Salah al-Din Axis,” is located along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It is 14 km long and 100 m wide. It is subject to the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, which it considers a “buffer zone.”
The protocol attached to the agreement demarcated the borders between the two countries and divided it into four main areas, three of which are located in the Sinai Peninsula in Egyptian territory, and one is inside Israel called Area D.
The “peace agreement” allows Israel and Egypt to deploy forces with limited numbers and equipment, and specific numbers and types of weapons and vehicles, with the aim of patrolling on the side of the Egyptian axis, to prevent smuggling, infiltration, and other criminal activities.
The agreement provides an Israeli presence within this buffer strip, known as the Philadelphia Axis, which is located within Area D in accordance with Annex I, the Protocol on Israeli Withdrawal and Security Arrangements, which allows the presence of a limited Israeli military force of four infantry battalions, field fortifications, and United Nations observers.
The Israeli force does not include any presence of tanks, artillery, or missiles, except for individual “surface-to-air” missiles.
The Israeli infantry forces in this area can have up to 180 military vehicles, with a total number of infantry not exceeding 4,000.
In Area C of the agreement, the presence of United Nations forces and the Egyptian civil police is allowed.
In Area B, Egyptian border units of four battalions equipped with light weapons are allowed.
In Area A, there are military forces consisting of an infantry division, an armored brigade, and artillery brigades, not exceeding 22 thousand Egyptian soldiers.
The Israeli forces controlled this Area D, including the Philadelphia axis, until they withdrew from it and handed it over to the Palestinian Authority in 2005.
To arrange an Egyptian presence for border guard forces, “Philadelphia Convention“, which is in line with the “Crossings between Israel and the Palestinian Authority” agreement that was signed in the same year.
Israel’s control of the axis is a violation of Camp David
Major General Staff Abdel Moneim Ghaleb told Al-Hurra website, “The agreement allows for the presence of a limited Israeli military force of four infantry battalions, the number of which does not exceed 4,000 soldiers, in Area D, and limited field fortifications, as well as observers from the United Nations. “Israeli force in this area includes any heavy weapons such as tracked tanks, armored vehicles, artillery or missiles, except individual surface-to-air missiles.”
The expert at the Nasser Higher Military Academy added, “This axis, which is bordered by barbed wire fences ranging in height from two to three meters and many concrete blocks, was under Israel’s control until the Israeli army unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.”
He continued, “As part of this withdrawal, which was decided by the government of the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, Ariel Sharon, Egypt and Israel signed the Philadelphia Agreement, which stipulated the deployment of a unit of 750 Egyptian border guard soldiers along the buffer zone (on the Egyptian side). These were the first Egyptian soldiers.” They have been patrolling this area since the 1967 war, when Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, which was then administered by Egypt, and the Sinai Peninsula.”
Regarding Egyptian armament in this region, the military expert said, “This agreement went so far as to specify the Egyptian unit’s equipment very precisely, which is 8 helicopters, 30 light armored vehicles, and 4 speedboats.”
He added, “The mission of these soldiers was to monitor the axis from the Egyptian side, that is, the only border in the Gaza Strip outside the direct control of the Israeli army, to combat terrorism and prevent any act of infiltration and smuggling.”
Regarding the impact of the Philadelphia Agreement on the peace treaty, he said, “The Philadelphia Protocol or Agreement, which was signed in 2005 after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, does not cancel or amend the peace treaty, which limits the military presence of both sides in that region, but it allowed Egypt to deploy 750 soldiers along The border with Gaza. This force is not a military force, but a police force to combat terrorism and cross-border infiltration.
Regarding the legality of the Israeli army’s declaration of control over the axis, the military expert believes that “legally, Israel cannot modify any of its presence in that region without Egypt’s consent. This is what is stipulated in the security annex to the peace treaty between the two countries in 1979, which shows how the spread of The armed forces of the two countries.
He explained that “Egypt does not want to enter into a confrontation with Israel, nor to withdraw from the peace treaty, but in the event of a violation of the agreement, Egypt has the right to take many legal measures, starting with resorting to international courts, through intensifying the number of its forces in the region as well, all the way to to withdraw from the agreement.
He pointed out that “cancelling the treaty will deprive Israel of the calm it enjoyed on the southern border, and strengthening its forces on the border with Egypt will pose a challenge to the Israeli army, which is deployed in the West Bank and is waging a war in the Gaza Strip and daily skirmishes with Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon.”
He explained, “So far, Egypt is watching with concern the increasing pressure on its border with Gaza, and has sent military reinforcements to the border on its part, and warned Israel against any step that might lead to forcing the residents of the Gaza Strip to enter Egyptian territory.”
The strategic expert, Major General Muhammad Abdel Wahed, told Al-Hurra website, “The presence of heavy Israeli military forces in the Rafah area or the agreed upon Area (D) is considered a violation of the peace agreement signed in 1979 and its security protocol in 1981.”
He added, “This security protocol specifies the form and number of forces present in Area D located inside Israel. If either country wants to increase the number of its forces or oppose them in this region for security reasons, the approval of the other party must be obtained.”
He continued, “In the 1979 agreement, there is an article known as the active mechanism, which determines the form of the military presence and the necessity of agreeing with the other party, otherwise it will be considered a violation of the peace agreement.”
Regarding Israeli control of the axis, the military expert sees it as “a clear violation of the peace agreement on the Israeli side, and at this time, the Egyptian government has the right to respond.”
He said, “According to international law regarding international treaties, we will find that the Vienna Convention of 1969 regarding international agreements stipulates that if the national security of any country is exposed to some threat, this country has the right to review or freeze the agreement partially or completely, or even cancel it completely.” .
But he explained, “Egypt and Israel have enjoyed good relations since 1979, and the two countries are keen not to escalate in order to preserve mutual relations due to economic, political, or security benefits.”
Therefore, he pointed out that “Egypt has repeatedly warned of the consequences of invading Rafah as it constitutes a threat to national security,” explaining that the military operations currently being carried out by Israel in Rafah “have placed the political leadership in Egypt in an embarrassing situation before the people and the region.”
Egypt options
In addition to canceling the agreement, the military expert believes that “there are many diplomatic reactions that Egypt can take, such as reducing the number of the Egyptian mission in Israel, withdrawing the ambassador, or stopping any cooperation related to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Israel.”
Egypt has repeatedly denied, through statements from the General Information Service of the Presidency of the Republic, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the existence of any security coordination between Egypt and Israel regarding the military operations currently taking place inside the Gaza Strip, specifically in the Philadelphia axis or in those areas located on the border strip between Egypt and Israel referred to in Security annexes to the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel in Area D.
With the outbreak of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and Israeli officials talking about plans to displace the residents of Gaza to Sinai, Egypt considered the matter a red line, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed his country’s refusal to displace Palestinians from Gaza, whether through displacement internally or outside their lands, especially to Sinai.
In recent weeks, differences between Egypt and Israel have come to the fore, as Israeli officials referred to a military operation in Rafah, and possible Israeli military control of the Philadelphia axis, accusing Cairo of failing to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons into Gaza.
Egypt refuted these accusations, stressing its ability to fully control its borders, denying the existence of tunnels, or the smuggling of weapons, explosives and their components, from Egyptian territory to the Gaza Strip. It warned of what it described as “Israel’s effort to create legitimacy for the occupation of the Philadelphia Corridor,” the border in the Gaza Strip, considering that it would lead to “a serious and serious threat to joint relations.”
Will Egypt cancel Camp David?
Israeli researcher and political analyst, Eddie Cohen, told Al-Hurra website, “Under the peace treaty, Egypt receives one billion and $200,000 in aid annually, and suspending the treaty will put that aid at risk, and therefore Egypt will not be able to cancel the agreement.”
He added, “International law stipulates that if there is a dispute between two countries regarding an agreement, they have the right to resort to international arbitration, but the important thing is that one of the provisions of the Camp David Agreement stipulates that both parties pledge not to allow their lands to be a source of terrorism for the other state or Hostile actions.”
He continued, “This means that Egypt is the one violating the agreement due to the continued existence of the tunnels that extend from the Palestinian Rafah to the Egyptian Rafah, and this constitutes a threat to Israel, which currently has the right to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court against Egypt or resort to international arbitration.”
Regarding control of the Philadelphia axis, Cohen said, “The Israeli army deals within the scope of what concerns the Palestinian part of the axis, not the Egyptian one. We have not penetrated the borders.”
He added, “What matters to the Israeli army is the Palestinian side, to target the tunnels through which weapons were smuggled and which pose a threat to Israel.”
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