Diaa Rashwan, Egypt’s Head of State Information Service (SIS), dismissed recent Israeli assertions on 22 January, calling them “false” and emphasising that such allegations undermine the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
Israeli officials, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claim that weapons, explosives, ammunition, and components are being smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Egyptian territory through various means, including tunnels.
“We’ll destroy Hamas, we’ll demilitarise Gaza, and military equipment and other deadly weapons will continue to enter this southern opening, so of course we need to close it,” Netanyahu said.
In response, Rashwan pointed out that Israel’s interference with Egypt’s control over its borders discredits the two country’s longstanding peace treaty.
“These false allegations do not serve the [Egyptian-Israeli] peace treaty that Egypt respects and it demands that the Israeli side show its respect for it also,” Rashwan noted in a statement released on the SIS website.
The country’s information chief proceeded to warn of Israel’s continued accusations and the risk it poses to the diplomatic relation between the two governments.
“Any Israeli move in this direction will lead to a serious threat to Egyptian-Israeli relations,” Rashwan cautioned.
EGYPT’S BORDER CONTROL EFFORTS
Rashwan took to the statement to also provide the media with a clear timeline of Egypt’s border securitisation efforts since 2013 – particularly highlighting Israel’s claims that tunnels between the borders are still being used for smuggling.
“Egypt itself had suffered greatly from these tunnels during the fierce confrontation with terrorist groups in Sinai,” the SIS chief highlighted. “It represented a means for smuggling fighters and weapons to Sinai to carry out terrorist operations that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 martyrs from the army, police, and civilians, and more than 13,000 injured.”
As a result of the existing terrorist threat in Sinai and its borders, Egypt’s military exerted maximum effort over the past decade to ensure security and stability in the region and neighbouring nations.
Rashwan detailed that these efforts included establishing a five-kilometre buffer zone, demolishing over 1,500 tunnels, and enhancing the border wall with a concrete structure.
Rashwan dismissed claims of smuggling operations through trucks carrying aid to Gaza, stating that trucks entering through the Rafah crossing are inspected by Israeli authorities.
AN ATTEMPT TO JUSTIFY ITS WAR ON GAZA: RASHWAN
Rashwan also accused Israel of using false claims to justify its unrelenting war on Gaza and to reoccupy the Philadelphi Corridor – which the Israeli Defense Forces formally withdrew from in 2005.
Rashwan challenged Israeli authorities to explain the source of weapons in the West Bank, emphasising that Israel’s false claims aim to shift blame for its failures in the war on Gaza.
While expressing Egypt’s solidarity with the Palestinian cause, Rashwan affirmed that border security is essential and does not conflict with supporting Palestine – once more, rejecting the displacement of Palestinians.
Egypt maintains its position in supporting a two-state solution that treats Palestine as an independent state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
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