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An Agreement to Open the Gaza-Egypt Border?

(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - A developing agreement between Egypt and Hamas would station people loyal to Mohammed Dahlan at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza in exchange for increased civilian traffic through it. The Egyptians are seeking to force Hamas to accept Egyptian authority and to put Dahlan in position to inherit Mahmoud Abbas' crown in the future. Yet achieving Egypt's ambitious goals will be complicated. Hamas will never give up power of its own accord, and it has yet to overcome its disgust for Dahlan - who repressed Hamas with an iron fist at the orders of Yasser Arafat in the late 1990s. In addition, Dahlan was the person responsible for the humiliation of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, when PA security forces imprisoned him and cut off half his beard. Dahlan is seen as the most corrupt of all Palestinian officials - even though he faces competition from a huge number of worthy participants. It is likely that his return to Gaza will quickly lead to internal opposition there. Moreover, Israeli defense officials warn that the opening of the Rafah crossing under Egyptian auspices will increase the danger of weapons and explosives being smuggled through the crossing into Gaza.
2017-07-10 00:00:00
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