With the IDF expanding its operations into the southern part of the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem has asked Cairo to withdraw its forces currently deployed around the border area in order to protect them from getting caught in the crossfire. The government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, however, has reportedly been reluctant to do so. Jonathan Schanzer comments:
Israelis will soon begin to discover tunnels connecting Gaza to the Sinai Peninsula. There may be dozens of them. The Egyptians have downplayed the problem. But it’s likely going to become a source of friction.
Weapons and cash move all too freely beneath what is known as the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Sinai border. In recent years, these tunnels have also enabled Hamas leaders and fighters to come and go as they please. Once we understand that, we begin to understand how Hamas was able to rearm and replenish after multiple rounds of fighting over the years. We can also begin to understand how Hamas leaders and fighters have been able to get training and advice from the outside. In other words, Egypt is very much a part of the current crisis in the Middle East.
It’s highly unlikely that ideological affinity explains all of this. If anything, it’s the opposite. . . . But the Sinai Bedouin have a lucrative system of smuggling. Historically, the Egyptian military has been incentivized to turn a blind eye to their activities. Today, however, the lax border situation may boil down to a scarcity of resources. The Egyptian government is cash-strapped. The country was in an economic tailspin well before the Gaza war erupted.
Read more on Commentary: https://www.commentary.org/jonathan-schanzer/egypts-gaza-dilemma/