Egypt slams 'baseless' Israeli ICJ claims on Rafah border crossing

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
12 Jan 2024 23:58
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The Chairman of Egypt's State Information Service has released statement debunking Israeli claims on an Egyptian imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the Egyptian-side of the Rafah border crossing amid the ongoing Isralei blockade and aggression on the Gaza Strip, on October 20, 2023 (AP)

Diaa Rashwan, current Chairman of Egypt's State Information Service, categorically denied the allegations and lies made by the Israeli defense team before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in which defendants claimed that Egypt is responsible for preventing the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the Gaza Strip.

Although Egypt controls its side of the border crossing in Rafah, the country has not denied aid truck entry into the Gaza Strip, but instead, the occupation has imposed a no-entry zone in the area by bombing any unauthorized movement.

Rashwan clarified in a statement on Friday that the "lies" made by "[Israel] are evident in statements made by Israeli officials, led by the Prime Minister, the Defense Minister, and the Energy Minister, who have repeatedly publicly affirmed since the start of the aggression on Gaza that they will not allow aid to enter Gaza, especially fuel, because this is part of the war waged by their state on the Strip."

The Egyptian official explained that "when the occupation state found itself accused with documented evidence of [genocide and war] crimes before the International Court of Justice, it resorted to blaming Egypt in an attempt to escape the likely condemnation."

"Egypt's sovereignty extends only to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, while the other side in Gaza is subject to the actual authority of the occupation," Rashwan emphasized.

Israeli practices evidence of de facto control

Providing evidence of "Israel's" imposed control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, Rashwan pointed to the consistent action taken by Israeli authorities, in relation to the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip.

In fact, in every instance that aid entered the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities demanded that aid trucks be transferred from the Rafah crossing to the "Kerem Shalom" crossing located within Israeli-occupied territories, to be thoroughly checked before entering the Gaza Strip.

This is "clearly manifested in the mechanism of aid entry from the Egyptian side to the Kerem Shalom crossing, which connects the Strip to Israeli territories, where it is inspected by the Israeli army before being allowed to enter the Strip," Rashwan highlighted.

He affirmed that "Egypt has announced [countless] times in official statements" that "the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side is open without interruption, demanding the Israeli side not to prevent the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip and to stop deliberately obstructing or delaying the entry of aid under the pretext of inspection."

Rashwan also noted that several world leaders, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, visited the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side, and none of them could cross to the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli occupation, which prevented movement in and out of the crossing.