A senior Egyptian official, Diaa Rashwan Chairman of the State Information Service said any Israeli action on the Philadelphi corridor – along the Gaza-Egypt border, could threaten relations between he two countries.
Read more:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly stated earlier in the month, that Israel would have to maintain control of the stretch of land connecting Gaza to the Egyptian border to prevent further smuggling of weapons and people that would allow Hamas to hold on to its military capabilities.
2 View gallery
IDF tanks along the Gaza border with Egypt before the Israeli withdrawal from the Strip in 2005
(.)
"Israel's lies are meant to create legitimacy to their occupation of the Philadelphi corridor, in contrast to international agreements," Rashwan said.
He rejected the claims that the smuggling of weapons into Gaza occurred from Egypt, including in the trucks delivering aid to the Strip.
"Those are ridiculous accusations. They do not serve Egypt's efforts to solve the crisis," he said. "Egypt had destroyed over 1,500 tunnels and reinforced the 14-kilometer (nearly nine miles) long Gaza fence with a concrete wall. There are three roadblocks separating the Sinai from Palestinian Rafah, so no smuggling can take place above or bellow ground."
2 View gallery
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza line up on the Rafah border
(Photo: Said Khatib / AFP)
Rashwan went on to say that Egypt has full control of its sovereign land and its borders with Gaza and Israel. "Israel has military control over Gaza and is holding it under siege from three sides while accusing Egypt without any proof."