Philadelphi Route
Encyclopedia
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Under the provisions of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979, the buffer zone
Buffer zone
A buffer zone is generally a zonal area that lies between two or more other areas , but depending on the type of buffer zone, the reason for it may be to segregate regions or to conjoin them....
was controlled and patrolled by Israeli forces. After the 1995 Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
was allowed to retain the security corridor along the border. One purpose of the Philadelphi Route was to prevent the movement of illegal materials
Border control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
(including weapons, ammunition and illegal drugs) and people between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians, in cooperation with some Egyptians, have built smuggling tunnels under the Philadelphi Route to move these into the Gaza Strip.
Background
The 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, in which Israeli agreed to withdraw from the Sinai in exchange for peace with Egypt, stipulated that the border with Egypt would follow the border of the Palestine Mandate. The main border exchange would be in the town of RafahRafah
Rafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
. It was agreed that the area near the border (known as Area C) would be demilitarized, with Egypt only permitted to maintain police forces there.
The Philadelphi route runs 14 km from the Mediterranean Sea to Keren Shalom, which is a three way border crossing between Israel, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is encompassed entirely in Area C, the demilitarized zone, of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.
Disengagement
In 2004, the KnessetKnesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
passed a resolution to unilaterally withdraw all Israeli citizens and forces from the Gaza Strip, which went into force in August 2005. Israel’s interest in withdrawing completely was to “free itself of the responsibility for the Gaza Strip”. However, in order to do so it would have to withdraw from the Philadelphi route as well. This raised the concern of Palestinian terrorists smuggling weapons from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
into the Gaza strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.
Much opposition arose within the “Israeli defense establishment” to vacating the Philadelphi route for strategic reasons. The primary concern was the militarization
Militarization
Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state...
of Gaza and the threat to Israeli security that its militarization would pose. However, it was decided to vacate the corridor in order to prevent Israeli-Palestinian friction which could destabilize the region further.
Israel’s decision to withdraw from the Phildelphi Route also posed a threat to the neighboring Egyptians through the potential militarization of Gaza. It was feared that Israel’s departure would create a power vacuum
Power vacuum
A power vacuum is, in its broadest sense, an expression for a condition that exists when someone has lost control of something and no one has replaced them. It is usually used to refer to a political situation that can occur when a government has no identifiable central authority...
that the weak Palestinian leadership would not be able to fill, thus creating a void to be filled by radical Islamists.
Philadelphi Accord
To mitigate the risk associated with complete disengagementIsrael's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
from Gaza, Israel signed the “Agreed Arrangements Regarding the Deployment of a Designated Force of Border Guards along the Border in the Rafah Area” or the Philadelphi Accord with Egypt. It authorized Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to deploy 750 border guards to patrol the Egypt side of the Philadelphi route to prevent “smuggling … infiltration and other criminal activity”. The agreement specified that the Egyptian force is “a designated force for the combating of terrorism and infiltration across the border” as opposed to for military purposes.
The Accord specifically indicated that the new agreement did not modify or amend the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
The 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. on the 26th of March 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords, which were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter.The peace...
, and maintained the status of the Philaldelphi route and Sinai desert as a demilitarized zone.
- The parties acknowledge that the BGF [border Guard Force] deployment and these Agreed Arrangements, in no way constitute an amendment to or a revision or modification of Annex I to the Peace Treaty. Rather they constitute additional mission-oriented security measures agreed upon by the parties. -Philadelphi Accord, Article 9
Instead, it “enhance[ed] Egypt’s capability to fight smuggling along the border,” while ensuring that the forces would not serve any military purposes. Israel insisted on the inclusion of the agreement provisions indicating that it was not an amendment to the 1979 Peace Treaty
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
The 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. on the 26th of March 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords, which were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter.The peace...
because during negotiations Egypt attempted to frame the agreement toward the re-militarization of the Sinai and its borders with Israel and Gaza.
The Accord itself contains 83 clauses and specifically describes the mission and obligations of the parties, including the specific types of machinery, weaponry and infrastructure permitted.
Egyptian Border Guard Force
The Philadelphi Accord created the Egyptian Border Guard Force (BGF) composed of 750 ground personnel divided between headquarters and four companies. The agreement specified that the BGF be equipped with the following:- 500 assault rifles
- 67 light machine guns
- 27 light anti-personnel launchers
- ground radar
- 31 police-style vehicles
- 44 logistical and auxiliary vehicles
Sentry posts, watchtowers and logistical facilities were permitted. Heavy armored vehicles, fortification, military-style intelligence-gathering equipment, and weaponry and equipment beyond the above numbers were prohibited.
Controversy Regarding Philadelphi Accord in Israeli Knesset
A number of scholars have looked into the legal issue of whether or not the Philadelphi Accord needed to be passed by the Knesset. Generally, the Knesset approves of major treaties either before or after their passage. The issue arose because the Philadelphi Accord would partially militarize Area C of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, changing the treaty and hence needing Knesset approval. This position was advocated by the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairperson, Yuval SteinitzYuval Steinitz
Yuval Steinitz , is an Israeli academic and politician who has been a Knesset member for Likud since 1999. He is now the Finance Minister of Israel.-Biography:...
; he was supported by MK Danny Yatom
Danny Yatom
Danny Yatom is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Labour. Before that he was a Director of the Mossad security service.-Background:...
and they jointly filed a petition to the Supreme Court against the Government. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
on the other hand, argued that the treaty did not change the “demilitarized” status of Area C, and therefore was not a significant enough treaty that it needed to be ratified. On July 6, 2005, the Attorney General ruled that the government was not bound to seek Knesset approval for the treaty, but convention stipulated that it should.
Transfer to Palestinian Authority
Following Israel's disengagementIsrael's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
from Gaza, Israel transferred authority for the Philadelphi Route to the Palestinian Authority. The Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) was signed after the Philadelphi Accord between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to “promote peaceful economic development and improve the humanitarian situation on the ground”. It opened the Rafah border in November 2005 and placed it under the authority of the Palestinian Authority and Egypt, with EU observers.
Current status
Since the Battle of Gaza (2007)Battle of Gaza (2007)
The Battle of Gaza was a military conflict between Hamas and Fatah that took place between June 7 and 15, 2007 in the Gaza Strip. After winning Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, Hamas and Fatah formed the Palestinan authority national unity government in 2007, headed by Ismail Haniya. In...
the Philadelphi Route has been controlled by Hamas
Governance of the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas after Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 and ousted Fatah officials as part of the Battle of Gaza . Hamas' political and military rival, Fatah, controls the West Bank. Both regimes regard themselves as the sole legitimate...
.
In January 2008, Palestinian militants destroyed several parts of the wall bordering the town of Rafah
Rafah
Rafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
. Thousands of Gazans flowed into Egypt in search of food and supplies. In January 2009, citing anonymous Western diplomats, Reuters reported that the Israeli military was considering retaking the Philadelphi Route area in order to prevent Hamas from rearming.