Haaretz probe: Israel has little say at Rafah crossing
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent 8 February 2006
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/680116.html

The deal Israel reached with the Palestinian Authority and Egypt on
operating the Rafah border terminal does not allow Israel to prevent the
entrance of terrorists from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, a Haaretz
investigation has revealed.

Senior security officials confirmed that, despite the security
establishment's official statements to the contrary, Israel has virtually no
say in who crosses the border.

The Rafah agreement stipulates that Israel cannot prevent Palestinians from
leaving Gaza, but has veto power over those who enter the Strip. European
monitors stationed at the terminal can prevent people from entering if
Israel provides security information they consider sufficiently solid.
Israel is supposed to monitor non-Gaza residents, who are meant to enter
through the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing.

However, the Kerem Shalom crossing is not in use and the arrangement at the
Rafah crossing does not allow for real monitoring. Israeli supervision
relies on a list of entrants supplied by the Palestinians and video footage
from the terminal. But the lists are sent to the Israelis only a short time
before the Palestinians cross into Gaza, allowing little time to check for
blacklisted names.

In addition, the pictures are generally small and too blurry to allow for
identification  and before a recent accession to an Israeli demand that the
images be transmitted in real time, the pictures would arrive 15 minutes
after being taken.

"Our people have a few minutes to link a low-quality picture with a name
that might ring a warning bell. In general, there isn't enough time to check
with experts at Shin Bet headquarters," said a senior security official.
"Even if [the security officer on duty] turns to the Europeans, it's not
certain they'll have a chance to do anything. The bottom line is that the
security effectiveness of this arrangement is close to zero."

In practice, this means terrorists can pass through the terminal unhindered.
Indeed, not a single Palestinian has been stopped at the border since the
Rafah agreement was reached in mid-November.

"There is a basic clash of interests that is difficult to bridge," a defense
official said. "Israel is looking for an arrangement of maximum security.
The Palestinian, Egyptian and European goal is to allow as much of a free
flow of citizens as possible."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushed through the Rafah deal, and
the many reservations security officials had been pointing out for two
months were set aside in two days of intensive talks. The Bush
administration needed a victory, and Rice told Israeli negotiation officials
there was no more time for games.

About a month ago, when embittered Fatah activists bulldozed their way
through the wall at the Rafah terminal, Israel complained. But the situation
is not much better today, even though the hole in the wall has been sealed.