Israeli Official Faults Egypt Over Arms Flow Into Gaza

A senior Israeli official yesterday accused Egypt of failing to halt arms smuggling into Gaza, thus bolstering the militant group Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian leadership supported by the United States.

The comments, by Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, reflect the increasing frustration of Israeli officials that Hamas has been able to increase its grip on the Gaza Strip since Israel withdrew its troops in 2005. Egypt at the time agreed to monitor the six-mile border between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, but hundreds of rockets have fallen on Israeli population centers from Gaza.

"There is no doubt that Egypt is not doing enough," Dichter told a group of reporters, asserting that "tens of tons" of explosives are being smuggled. "I am sure that if Egypt decides to block this flow of smuggling, they can do it, 100 percent."

Some Israeli officials said they suspect that Egypt is playing a double game -- officially supporting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in his struggle with Hamas while hedging its bets because Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic group with growing political strength in Egypt.

Egypt has publicly supported U.S. efforts to strengthen the security forces loyal to Abbas. It has also discreetly shipped arms to Abbas's forces.

Dichter, noting that he does not believe the Egyptian government itself is engaging in smuggling, declined to speculate on the reasons why Egypt has not halted the flow of arms into Gaza. "It is very easy to be done. It is a matter of determination," he said. "There is no doubt it strengthens the terrorist organization."

Dichter said that he had raised the problem in talks with Bush administration officials this week.

Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy rejected Dichter's comments as inaccurate and untrue. He said most of the weapons that enter Gaza are either smuggled through Israel's black market or over the sea along Gaza's coast.

"They should control their own market, frankly," Fahmy said. He added that when Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, "they were not able to prevent smuggling 100 percent."

Fahmy said that Egyptian forces in the Sinai are limited in size under the Camp David accords, though the level was increased to 750 troops in an agreement with Israel after the Gaza withdrawal. The problem has been exacerbated, he said, by a lack of policing on the Gaza side of the border. "There is a good-faith effort to try to control the smuggling," Fahmy said.