Egypt’s Role in Gaza Blockade: Diaa Rashwan Reveals Sisi’s Regime Involvement
Watan-In confirmation of the role of Sisi’s regime in the blockade of Gaza and the encirclement of the resistance, journalist Diaa Rashwan, the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, acknowledged that Egypt has destroyed more than 1500 tunnels with Gaza, under the pretext of preventing the entry of weapons into the region.
In statements made to “Cairo News” and reported by Egyptian media, including the government-owned newspaper “Al-Ahram,” Diaa Rashwan stated that Sisi’s regime demolished these tunnels and reinforced the border wall with Gaza, extending 14 kilometers by fortifying it with a concrete wall.
Diaa Rashwan admits Egypt’s participation in the blockade of Gaza
He added that there are three barriers between Sinai and the Palestinian city of Rafah, “making any smuggling operation impossible, neither above nor beneath the earth.”
The head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service also claimed that Egypt has complete sovereignty over its land and exercises full control over its entire northeastern borders, whether with the Gaza Strip or with Israel.
It is noteworthy that previous reports suggested Israeli support for Sisi‘s regime in Sinai to confront armed groups through monitoring and reconnaissance operations with modern Israeli drones roaming Sinai.
Diaa Rashwan added in his statements, “It is striking and surprising that Israel speaks in this undocumented way about allegations of weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza.” He said, “Israel militarily controls Gaza and besieges the territory from three sides, yet it confines itself to accusations sent to Egypt without any evidence.”
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the aggression against Gaza
During every Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the attention of Palestinians turns towards their Arab and Islamic nation in general, and particularly towards Egypt. This is not only because it is a central and influential Arab country but also because it is the only Arab country that directly borders Gaza, providing it with a gateway to the outside world under the blockade from the other side.
The blockade of Gaza during Sisi’s era differs even from the era of the ousted President Hosni Mubarak in terms of its severity and strictness.
It does not stop at the closure of the Rafah crossing—the only crossing for Gaza to the outside world—or the destruction of tunnels but goes beyond that towards political hostility with many Palestinian forces, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement, and even with some leftist forces whose official relations with Cairo are marked by a sense of indifference and coolness.
