Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet security agency director Ronen Bar visited Cairo last week to reassure their Egyptian counterparts that Israel will take steps to ensure an operation in Rafah will not create an influx of Palestinian refugees into Egypt, two U.S. officials briefed on the issue told Axios.
Why it
matters: The high-level visit by the most senior officer in the Israeli
military signals the importance the Israeli government is giving to its
security relationship with Egypt, which has already warned that the
displacement of Palestinians to the Sinai Peninsula would lead to a rupture in
its relations with Israel.
-The
meeting also took place amid growing global concerns, including in the U.S. and
Egypt, that an Israeli operation in Rafah, where more than 1.4 million
Palestinians — many displaced from elsewhere in Gaza — are sheltering, will
lead to mass casualties.
-Israeli
officials have said that coordination with Egypt is a precondition for any
future operation in Rafah.
Behind
the scenes: Halevi and Bar met with the Egyptian intelligence director and
senior Egyptian military officers and discussed the possible Israeli operation
in Rafah, the U.S. officials said.
-Halevi
and Bar presented the Egyptian officials with their ideas for how an Israeli
operation in Rafah could be conducted in a way that would prevent a mass flow
of Palestinian refugees into the Sinai Peninsula, the U.S. officials said
without elaborating.
-The IDF
and the Shin Bet declined to comment. Egyptian officials didn't respond to
Axios' questions on the issue.
State of
play: The IDF on Sunday presented Israel's war Cabinet with a plan to evacuate
civilians from Rafah. It includes allowing Palestinians to move to areas north
of Khan Younis and south of Gaza City, according to Israeli officials. The IDF
also presented its operational plan for Rafah.
-Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS on Sunday that a hostage deal
between Israel and Hamas will delay an IDF operation in Rafah, but stressed
Israel will still conduct the operation at a later time.
-He also
said that Egyptian officials "know very well" that Israel is not
aiming to push Palestinians from Rafah to the Sinai.
-"'[W]e're
coordinating. We're talking to the Egyptians all the time, Netanyahu said.
"The peace between Israel and Egypt serves the interests of both countries
and will continue to serve the interests of both countries, I don't think it's
in any danger."
https://www.axios.com/2024/02/26/rafah-palestinians-israel-egypt-hamas-idf
