The border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt must be closed to prevent the flow of weapons into the enclave, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, as quoted by CNN.
He claimed that the Palestinian movement Hamas has been using the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to smuggle weapons.
“We’ll destroy Hamas, we’ll demilitarize 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.
Currently, Israel controls all the Gaza Strip border crossings (including airspace and maritime routes) apart from town of Rafah on the border with Egypt. According to the broadcaster, Israel is undecided about means of controlling the Gaza-Egypt border, but obviously mulls different options.
Earlier, Egyptian officials warned that any Israeli incursion in the zone would be considered as blatant violation of the 1979 peace treaty.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid stressed that Israeli intentions to control the Gaza-Egypt border are “subject to scrutiny”.
“Egypt fully controls its borders and controls it completely, and these issues are subject to legal and security agreements between the countries involved, so any talk on this matter is generally subject to scrutiny and is responded to with declared positions,” he stressed in an interview with a local TV channel.
In October, Palestinian military group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, firing a barrage of missiles and penetrating its territory. In response, Israeli government launched operation “Swords of Iron”, introduced a complete humanitarian blockade of the Gaza Strip and started indiscriminate strikes on its infrastructure. The conflict resulted in death of over 24 thousand Gaza residents and over 1 thousand of Israeli citizens. Palestinian healthcare system collapsed, over 1.9 million of Palestinians left their homes.