An Egyptian researcher in national security affairs, Ahmed Refaat, commented on a request submitted by Israel to Egyptian authorities calling for joint coordination to install surveillance cameras at the Philadelphia Crossing, RT Arabia reported.
“The Israeli politician often becomes insane to the point that he imagines that it is possible for a large country like Egypt to be used for his benefit and to provide services to him, and that it is possible for it to side with him in the face of its (Palestinian) brothers,” he said.
Refaat continued, “Egypt is a sovereign state whose rights and duties have been regulated by treaties, agreements, and annexes on its borders and on the Salah al-Din Axis (Philadelphia), including the presence of Egyptian forces, weapons, and equipment.”
“We said that Egypt will reject two things: the first is to undermine this sovereignty, and the second is to pressure the axis to force the brothers to be displaced.”
He explained, “Until this moment, the Israeli enemy has not provided any evidence of weapons smuggling operations to the Palestinian resistance across the axis, and therefore the only cooperation available is against drug smugglers and human trafficking. Otherwise, neither devices will be placed on our lands, nor will spy drones fly over our lands, nor will our forces be withdrawn.”
The Wall Street Journal also announced that Israel is negotiating with Egypt to tighten surveillance on the Philadelphia Corridor, connecting Egypt and the Gaza Strip, under the pretext of preventing the Hamas movement from building more tunnels.
The newspaper quoted anonymous Egyptian officials stating that Israel asked Egypt to install sensors along the axis of the Philadelphia Corridor.
The officials said that Israel, which previously controlled the corridor, also requested to be notified directly if the sensors were activated, and to be given the right to send reconnaissance drones in the event they are, altering it to when Hamas attempts to rebuild its tunnels and corridors arms smuggling following the war’s end.
In response to the Israeli request, the official said that Egypt will study the issue of activating the sensors, but direct notification and allowing Israel to send its reconnaissance drones will infringe upon Egypt’s sovereignty.
