Fury as Egyptian border town becomes site of Israeli exodus
The Egyptian border town of Taba has become a critical escape route for Israelis who are fleeing from Iranian retaliatory airstrikes on Israel. Their arrival into the Sinai Peninsula has sparked fury amongst the Egyptian population, according to The New Arab on June 22nd.
The major influx of Israelis into Egypt has raised serious questions about national security, sovereignty, and favourable treatment of Israelis in comparison to Palestinians. This unrest comes as Egyptian authorities have facilitated the Israeli exodus.
Thousands of Israelis and foreign nationals, including diplomats and international staff, have crossed into the Egyptian border town through the Taba crossing in the past few days. They aim to fly to Europe or other destinations via Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
The Egyptian government has coordinated with a number of foreign embassies to ensure safe evacuations for those fleeing the conflict.
A European diplomatic source told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the Egyptian Foreign Ministry handled the evacuation requests with high professionalism, providing safe corridors in coordination with security services,” and that “Egypt’s swift response reflected an awareness of the sensitivity of the situation and the importance of its role in regional de-escalation.”
However, the Egyptian public have become enraged with the official evacuation. Many critics are disgraced at the sight of Israelis in the Sinai Peninsula while Israel continues to decimate Gaza and assault the West Bank.
Activists have highlighted what they label a disturbing paradox: “The Palestinians are besieged, and the Egyptian authorities block convoys to break the siege, while Israelis are welcomed in Sinai hotels.”
Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza were exposed to malnutrition after Israel imposed a total blockade on the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies into the strip on March 2nd.
Aid distribution in Gaza is now only run by the US and Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The foundation has set up distribution sites in the territory where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while desperately seeking aid to survive.
The founder of Egyptians against Zionism, Mohamed Saif Al-Dawla, drew parallels between the behaviour of the Egyptian authorities and the situation faced by Egypt in the colonial era.
He told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the facilitation of Israeli entry into Sinai today is reminiscent of the foreign privileges system imposed on Egypt under British occupation.”
Al-Dawla asked, “are Egyptians aware that Israelis enjoy special tourist privileges inside Egyptian territory?” in reference to a 1989 bilateral agreement which grants Israeli tourists visa-free entry into the South Sinai via Taba, where they can stay for up to two weeks without paying any entry fees and being subject only to random customs inspections.
“No other nationality enjoys such exemptions,” he said.
“Even after Egypt won the Taba border dispute in 1988, we saw no real review of these arrangements. Zionist ambitions in Sinai have never ceased. [Former Israeli Prime Minister] Menachem Begin said Israel would return to Sinai when three million Jews were ready to settle it.”
He continued that “in 2008, Avi Dichter [Israeli Minister] said Israel’s withdrawal was conditional on US guarantees that allowed return if the Egyptian regime no longer served Israeli interests.”
Al-Dawla cautioned that the entry of Israelis into the Sinai Peninsula poses a major national security threat. “The real danger isn’t just legal privileges, but the resulting security breaches, espionage, and soft recruitment happening on our soil.”
A tourism official said that the surge in hotel occupancy has hardly brought any economic benefit to Egypt. “These are essentially fake bookings. Israelis only stay one or two nights before flying elsewhere. The Egyptian border town of Taba and the town of Sharm further south are little more than “transit points.”
Israelis have expressed satisfaction with the arrangement on social media. Israeli settler Guy Shilo wrote in a post to the ‘Lovers of Sinai’ group that “we feel very safe in Sinai. It’s an excellent travel option. Come back—life goes on, even during war.”
However, the reality for Egyptian’s legally residing in Israel couldn’t be more different. The Association of Egyptians in Israel posted: “Freedom of movement is a simple right granted to Israelis but denied to Egyptian citizens.”
The group outlined the protracted and ambiguous security procedures that Egyptians trying to return home – even temporarily – are subject to. This is done through the exact same border that their Israeli counterparts cross with ease.
Maghrebi.org, The New Arab
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