News
Construction work begins on buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt
The Hamas Interior Ministry has begun work on a buffer zone between the Gaza Strip and its border with Egypt.
The Ministry said it is going to build a 12 kilometre patrol road with guard posts, lighting and cameras along the border. Tawfiq Abu Naim, head of Gaza security forces and Director-General of the Hamas Interior Ministry, said the buffer zone will ultimately be 100 metres wide.
He said: “The message to the Egyptian side is a calming one: Egyptian national security is part of Palestinian national security, and we will not let the peace along the southern border be disturbed. We’ve begun removing all the obstacles, including trees, wells and sand hills that get in the way of supervising the border.”
On Wednesday, websites associated with Hamas published photographs of bulldozers clearing a wide area along the border. Haaretz reports that the work will force a large number of families out of their homes.
The move follows a recent Hamas delegation to Cairo during which it held meetings with senior Egyptian intelligence officials.
Last week, Egypt and Hamas reached an agreement regarding diesel delivery to Gaza’s sole power station to alleviate the energy crisis. The agreement included the expectation that Hamas would tackle global jihadist elements inside Gaza and on the border between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula.
In related news, the newly-appointed Hamas Political Bureau Director Ismail Haniyeh reportedly cannot leave the Gaza Strip because no Arab country is willing to accept him. His predecessor, Khaled Meshaal, was hosted in Qatar but due to the diplomatic crisis with other Sunni states, Qatar has refused permission for Haniyeh to reside there.
Senior Hamas officials who visited Cairo said that Iran would be willing to host Haniyeh and political bureau officials, but that Hamas had rejected the offer. Egypt opposes Haniyeh being based there.