Home News Unraveling the Philadelphi Axis: Israel’s Border Intrusions and the Struggle for Control

Unraveling the Philadelphi Axis: Israel’s Border Intrusions and the Struggle for Control

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Unraveling the Philadelphi Axis: Israel’s Border Intrusions and the Struggle for Control
Philadelphi Axis

Watan-The “Matsada Do Not Believe” platform published a detailed report on whether the Israeli occupation army violated the peace treaty signed with Egypt by invading the Philadelphi Axis and occupying the Rafah crossing.

Coinciding with the announcement by the Israeli occupation army of its control over the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side, talk resumed about the “Salah al-Din Axis” or “Philadelphi,” which connects the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian border.

Occupation mechanisms in the Philadelphi Axis

The Israeli occupation army published a video of military vehicles invading the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing. It also published photos of armored personnel carriers and Merkava tanks a few meters from the Egyptian border, in the distance between the crossing gate from the Palestinian and Egyptian sides.

The Israeli Channel Twelve published a video clip showing armored personnel carriers crossing towards the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing and passing through the Salah al-Din Axis, known as “Philadelphi.”

The video, apparently filmed by one of the soldiers participating in the operation, shows a voice speaking in Hebrew: “You are in Philadelphi… Look how beautiful the Israeli flag is.”

According to the published footage, at least 3 Israeli vehicles and tanks were seen passing through the axis, one of which was filmed by the soldier in the clip, another tank raising the Israeli flag, and another vehicle in front of the tank raising the flag.

Violation of the peace treaty

The presence of military vehicles in the border strip connecting Egyptian Rafah and Palestinian Rafah constitutes a violation of the Philadelphi Agreement signed between Egypt and Israel in 2005.

Israel seeks to reoccupy the Salah al-Din Axis, known as “Philadelphi,” as revealed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December 2023.

Israel claims that the axis is being used to smuggle weapons to Hamas or for its leadership’s escape, according to a previous report by the “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper published on December 15, 2023. It stated that this requires Egyptian approval, which is not guaranteed.

There has been no announcement of Egyptian approval for the occupation of the axis, and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah and the Israeli control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.

The report reviewed the special nature of the border strip, which is a security buffer zone, its security arrangements, and the agreements between Egypt and the occupying state regarding it.

What is the Salah al-Din Axis/ “Philadelphi”?

This axis is a buffer zone between the Gaza Strip and Egyptian Rafah, stretching 14 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea north to the Karam Abu Salem crossing south, with a width of a few hundred meters.

The axis is Palestinian territory within the Gaza Strip, occupied by Israel since 1967.

When Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza in September 2005, the administration of the Rafah crossing fell under the Palestinian Authority, which managed the crossing from the Palestinian side, before Hamas took control of it in 2007.

According to Israeli law professor Moshe Hirsch, when Israel implemented its disengagement plan in 2005, it was supposed to deploy its forces along that border strip due to concerns about Palestinians smuggling weapons from Egypt to Gaza via the axis.

However, Israel’s desire to free itself from responsibilities towards Gaza led it to instead negotiate a security agreement with Egypt.

What do the agreements between Egypt and Israel say about the axis?

There are two agreements between Egypt and Israel governing this axis, the first being the “Peace Treaty.”

Egyptian Rafah falls within Zone C of the Sinai Peninsula, which the security annex of the 1979 Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel stipulates should only contain Egyptian police with light weapons and United Nations forces.

The second agreement is the Philadelphi Agreement. With Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a second agreement was signed with Egypt in September 2005 specifically to secure this axis, known as the “Philadelphi Agreement.”

The agreement allowed for the deployment of a border guard force instead of the Egyptian police along the border strip between Egypt and Palestinian Rafah, aiming to replace the police with more trained forces equipped to combat “terrorism, smuggling, and infiltration.”

The agreement stipulated the deployment of an Egyptian border guard force of 750 personnel, supported by personnel from the navy and air force, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which published its details.

The force’s weapons are light, consisting of 500 assault rifles, 67 light machine guns, 27 light anti-personnel grenade launchers, 31 police vehicles, 44 logistics and support vehicles, up to 6 unarmed helicopters, and 4 coastal patrol boats.

Some ground radars and observation towers are allowed to be used, while the use of military intelligence gathering equipment is prohibited.

The agreement provided for a new system of operational coordination and intelligence exchange between the Egyptian and Israeli sides.

The “Philadelphi Agreement” stipulated that it is subject to the provisions of the Peace Treaty and does not constitute an amendment to it, and that the new force would only be used for counterterrorism, smuggling, and infiltration purposes, without any military purpose.

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