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Egypt prepares to create Gaza buffer zone to combat Sinai terror
Egyptian authorities are reportedly making preparations to establish a nine-mile long buffer zone along its border with the Gaza Strip in order to stymie support for attacks in the Sinai Peninsula where Egyptian forces are being targeted by Islamist terror groups.
According to AP, Egyptian officials have already instructed residents living in close proximity to the border to evacuate their homes in order to make way for a 500-yard wide buffer zone which will include water-filled trenches. Residents were apparently initially given 48 hours to leave their homes, but the deadline has since been extended.
The move comes in the wake of a huge terror attack in northern Sinai on Friday, which killed 33 Egyptian soldiers. A suicide bomb was detonated at an Egyptian army checkpoint near al-Arish and then in a second attack, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars were fired, which local groups apparently are not trained to use. As a result, Maj. Gen. Sameeh Beshadi told Egyptian media there was “no doubt that Palestinian elements had taken part in the attacks.” Egypt’s President al-Sisi declared a state of emergency in parts of Sinai. He said that “foreign forces” were responsible for the attack and ordered the closure of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza. Egyptian officials have long accused Hamas of supporting terrorist groups in Sinai.
Since last year’s ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, al-Sisi’s regime has been the main target of Sinai terror groups, especially Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has also targeted Israel on occasion. Egyptian media claims that the group was responsible for a border attack last week which injured two Israeli soldiers.
Egypt’s offensive against the group has included the destruction of more than 1,500 smuggling tunnels into Sinai from the Gaza Strip. Egyptian authorities believe that the tunnels have been used to smuggle weapons and fighters into Sinai from Gaza, with at least tacit support from Hamas. The creation of a buffer zone would aim to more effectively halt such action.