Why are we in Gaza being punished for Egypt border guard killings?

Rana Baker The Electronic Intifada Gaza City 8 August 2012

Once again Palestinians in Gaza are being punished for events beyond their control.

Abed Rahim Khatib APA images

Egypt is the country that I have visited the most.

Being a daughter of a Gazan father and a refugee mother (originally from al-Majdal or Ashkelon as it is now known), and a holder of a Palestinian identity card and passport, I have never been allowed to reach 1948 Palestine (modern day Israel). I have been to Jerusalem only once and spent only one night in Ramallah because the permit, issued to me by the Israeli authorities, stated that I could spend no longer there than the period they had “very generously” stipulated. Of course, this is the case for the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza.

Up until 2006, the year the Palestinian legislative elections were held, Egypt remained at the heart of our summer plans. To many of us, Egypt is home. Not that we were oblivious to how Hosni Mubarak accommodated Israel, but primarily because we loved the people of Egypt and identified with them in so many different ways.

Then the siege on Gaza was imposed. Mubarak rebuffed any Palestinian attempt to ease the blockade, and constructed an iron wall to close down the newly-built tunnels at the time, effectively suffocating a mostly civilian population already suffering from high levels of unemployment and poverty. We were devastated. We cursed Mubarak, and sometimes we cursed the Egyptian people for their indifference towards the suffering of their Palestinian kinfolk (most of us were unaware of the protests Egyptians had mounted against the blockade, resulting in mass arrests).

The culmination and manifestation of our devastation came in 2008. Dozens of angry Palestinians in Gaza stormed the Rafah terminal demanding an end to the siege and an open crossing into Egypt. We were met by violence and later on we were faced by an Egyptian outcry at the “uncivilized” behavior and blatant “disrespect” to the sovereignty of Egypt.

Falling in love again

On 25 January 2011, we fell in love with Egypt again, or our love was renewed. We felt like an abandoned lover who has just discovered that she hasn’t been betrayed, that the “affair” was fabricated by a jealous third party.

Palestinians flocked to the Square of the Unknown Soldier in Gaza City to express solidarity with their Egyptian brothers and sisters. Protestors were beaten up and arrested because the internal administration here was afraid of a similar uprising in Palestine. We carried the millions in Tahrir Square in the folds of our prayers, of our conversations and hottest arguments. Seeing the spilling of blood and the murder of fearless young Egyptians stimulated contempt for the villains and forced tears out of our eyes.

Once again, we identified with them. They were fighting for what we have been struggling to achieve for more than six decades: freedom and dignity. Whether in Tahrir Square, on Mohammed Mahmoud Street, Maspero, or later in Abbasiyya, our protagonists were the people of Egypt and our antagonists were first Mubarak and his regime and second the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which remains headed by Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi.

Nasty messages

In the past few days, I received countless nasty messages on my Twitter account either addressed to me personally or to anyone Palestinian. The harshest one read: “Gazans are dogs who would have become homeless without Egypt.” Another referred to us as “refugee garbage.”

Sunday’s attack in Sinai that left 16 Egyptian border guards dead was the reason behind these slights.

Following the attack, which was carried out by gunmen who have still not been identified, the SCAF was quick to accuse the people of Gaza of being behind the murder and hence Tantawi was quick in issuing his punishment. Both the Rafah crossing and underground tunnels were declared closed “indefinitely.” Amr Moussa, the former Egyptian minister of foreign affairs and presidential candidate, supported the measure and stated that the closure of the crossing must be accompanied with the closure of the underground tunnels.

Although many Egyptians were elated by the news, the young revolutionaries who made the highest sacrifices during the revolution condemned the decision and even used social networking websites to voice their opposition to Tantawi and his brutal policies toward the people of Gaza.

Double standards

It is worth recalling here the official Egyptian stance on the murder of two Egyptian security guards in an Israeli raid along the Israeli-Egyptian border last year. Not one Egyptian helicopter took off in search of the assailants and not one bullet was aimed at “suspects” from the Israeli side. Not only did the SCAF bury the incident as if it had never happened, but it went as far as to quell Egyptian protestors at the Israeli embassy in Cairo almost a year ago today. Days later the SCAF erected a high wall around the embassy to “protect” it against “extremists.”

The comparison is infuriating and exposes the double standards of the SCAF and the government standing behind it.

It is also noteworthy that what the SCAF is doing now is based on speculation regarding the identity of the assailants and not on true evidence.

The 1979 Treaty of Shame (better known as the Camp David accords) which limits Egyptian presence in the Sinai is another relevant issue. Had it not been for Camp David, it would have been much easier for the Egyptian government to ensure security of the Sinai peninsula, and reduce the possibility of such bloody attacks. Furthermore, on the day of the attack Israel allowed Egyptian troops to intensify their presence across the border. Here one should ask the Egyptian government why Israel is allowed to behave as if Sinai is an Israeli possession. But of course, the government is busy pumping gas below market price to its “peace partner.” Egyptians standing in long lines at gas stations or experiencing daily power cuts, however, come in distant second place.

While Israeli tourists can still tan their bodies and enjoy vacations on the shores of Sharm al-Sheikh, Gaza residents are arriving from any country to any Egyptian airport are being sent back to the countries they came from because Rafah crossing is closed and therefore they cannot enter Gaza, Al-Masry Al-Youm reports.

Tantawi and his supporters need to be reminded once more that Palestinians have always demanded that our dignity be respected. Neither the closure of the tunnels nor any political decision in the world can break our determination and belief in our right to freedom, return and equality. Tantawi and his ilk need to contemplate the steadfastness of our hunger strikers in Israeli jails to understand that Palestinians are dying to live.

Down with military rule!

Rana Baker is a student of business administration and a member of the Gaza-based organizing committee for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Her blog is ranabaker.wordpress.com and she can be followed on Twitter: @RanaGaza.

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Comments

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Abraham Paz replied on

Rana: The problem with palestinians is that they dont want to see the truth. 16 egiptian soldiers were killed by terrorists with no relation with Israel. However, Israel is blamed for this crime.

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Karen Nakamura replied on

We honestly don't know or why. We do know it worked negatively for Gaza and positively for Israel. The intel community in Israel has a reputation for carrying out these types of operations. I reported for almost 20 yrs on these type of operations carried out by the IOF over and over.

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Gil Franco replied on

An open border with Egypt only serves the Zionists who want to separate Gaza from Palestine and integrate it with Egypt. Human suffering aside, this plot needs to be opposed by those working or the victory of the Palestinian people.

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JEFFREY A. H. replied on

maybe thats the way they are getting back at the ikhwan for winning egypt.Our Prayers forever with the brave steadfast people of Gaza.

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Ovidio Oliveira replied on

Congratulations for your bold text against all these injustices that gazian people and all Palestinians are suffering. I see behind this situation the power of Washington that support Israel and consequently makes everything in name of "Israel security". In Egypt, SCAF is receiving money and weapons from Washington, and unfortunately Moussa is too weak.

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Skulz Fontaine replied on

The uprising in Egypt was certainly a thing to behold. With pride and joy. Seems now though, to be just a mite wobbly and uncertain.
As for 'Twitter', well, log off that mess and delete your account. 'Twitter' is not worth the time nor effort. Cesspool of collective hate. True true.
Now I'm Amerikan you see and, I find ALL Palestinians to be honorable and damn fine human beings. I know from first hand experiece. Pay no attention to fools that would spew their ignorance on a 'Twitter' page. They are inherently stupid and woefully lacking in simple human decency.
As for "double standards" and that would especially be relevant to the Palestinian people and Gazans in particular. The Israelis "enjoy" that extra special Amerikan protection and status that is enjoyed by only them. The quite ugly harvest of Zionism in Amerika. That special status is both an embarrassment and a disgrace for every Amerikan.
Finally, Gazans are punished for the simple reason that Gazans are Palestinian and held in utter and abject quarantine in the extra very special Gulag Gaza. Gazans are Israel's whipping boy. Or girl. Doesn't matter. Israel no longer enjoys the privilege of having Lebanon to pounding on. Up with Hizbullah!
Anyway, I understand your frustration and humiliation but please know that you and all Palestinians are in my prayers every day. True very true.
What is to be done about Amerikan subservience to the Zionists, well, I've not an answer to that one. You are not forgotten. You are loved and respected.
peace and respect,
Skulz Fontaine
Globe, Arizona

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Karen Nakamura replied on

This is an excellent article and should be read by a greater audience. Maybe this is all a smoke screen for something bigger. Israel has a reputation of carrying out serious aggressive actions during times when the world's attention is elsewhere. Think Operation Iron Fist, the hideous attack on Gaza carried out during the transfer of power between Bush and Obama.

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Emanuel replied on

Some are still harboring the illusion that the Muslim Brotherhood is a nationalist organisation! Wake up, Mursi was supported by the US and had promised Hilary Clinton he will seal the border crossings. The attack on the border guards possibly engineered by Mossad presented him with a golden opportunity to deliver what he promised.

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Anonymous replied on

Strange that the source of the border attacks is Gaza...

It seems you Palestinians can never accept blame! It was clearly a Palestinian attack.

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Al replied on

Nobody in Gaza had any motive for the attack, only Israel. If it was not Mossad, then I can't see why anyone else would have done it.

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Egyptians and Palestinians are brothers replied on

I am Egyptian, from Alexandria. This is article is really worth reading. All my respect and appreciations for our brothers and sisters in Gaza and in Palestine generally. We have all to refuse the silly stereotyping. The truth is that most Egyptians love and sympathize with Palestinians. And the vast majority of Palestinians are peaceful people and really offended just because they are Palestinians. The traitors in both countries cooperate with what called Israel to harm the mutual-relations and distort the clear image. But I am optimistic. I believe that the future will be better for both of us.