Egypt's curbs on movement through its crossing with the Gaza Strip is a security decision that had to be taken even though it has cut off imports of medicine and aid to the impoverished coastal enclave. Usually open for four to six days per month, the Rafah crossing has now been shut to normal passenger traffic for over six weeks, forcing Hamas, which rules Gaza, to call the closure a crime against humanity. It is not. Security concerns dictate the status of the crossing which is regularly opened for humanitarian reasons, such as for patients seeking treatment. And Egypt renewed a call for the lifting of the Israeli blockade – which is the real crime - during the most recent Arab foreign ministers conference. The closure of the strip was expected after relations between Cairo and Gaza steadily declined since the ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July. Hamas is an offshoot of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which the government has declared a terrorist organization.
Egypt had no other recourse but to seal the tunnels although it is not a decision without physical and political risks. The ban and its broader war is an open invitation for extremist groups in Gaza and Sinai to continue striking at Egyptian targets. The role of Egypt within Palestinian politics, particularly on the reconciliation track between Fatah and Hamas, has now become reduced. Any future involvement by Egypt in reaching a Hamas-Israel military truce will also be limited, depriving Egypt of manifesting its diplomacy and expanding regional leverage. The same applies to the current peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel, which have entered a critical phase. By proscribing Hamas, Egypt limits its potential capacity to assume regional roles.
But the crossing had to be closed because Hamas had been inviting all sorts of militant and Jihadist groups and training them in Sinai, kidnapping and killing Egyptian soldiers and smuggling the killers into the Gaza Strip via tunnels and hiding Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Gaza.
Egypt's decision to impose a ban on the activities of a Palestinian resistance group in the country is unique throughout the history of Arab relationships with Palestine. However, the crossing is crucial as Egypt controls Gaza's only border crossing not controlled by Israel.
Some Hamas officials describe the Cairo court ruling banning Hamas activities in Egypt and the closure of Gaza as a blow to Egypt's history of defending the Palestinian cause. That accusation is unfair. Egypt fought four wars with Israel for the Palestinian cause. And whereas the Muslim Brotherhood was ruled a terrorist organization in December last year, the Egyptian judge did not declare Hamas a terrorist group.
Hamas viewed Morsi's rise to power in Egypt as a triumph that could have helped end Gaza's economic and political isolation. But Morsi is gone and Hamas must look ahead by not forgetting its past. It is hoped that Hamas will stick to the job it was founded for, a resistance group fighting for Palestinian freedom from Israeli occupation. Hamas has fought Israel in two major wars on Gaza over the past seven years, Operation Cast Lead and Operation Pillar of Defense. The two clashes killed over 1,500 Palestinians as opposed to 19 Israelis. That is the blood resistance men often spill. Hamas is a group of freedom fighters whose rifles should be trained on Israel and nobody else.
