EU monitors fled border crossing to safety in Israel

When Israel negotiated control of the Rafah border crossing from Gaza to Egypt with the Palestinian Authority it was contingent upon the European Union monitoring the border traffic from the Palestinian Authority’s side. It would be an understatement to say that the Israelis have a distinct lack of trust in the Palestinian Authority’s ability to be able to police their side of the crossing effectively. To allay the Israeli concerns and fears the European Union stepped into the role of monitoring the Palestinian Authority at the Rafah border.

It hasn’t worked out that well for the European Union contingent according to this Jerusalem Post article:

Palestinian policemen angry over the killing of a fellow police officer stormed the Gaza-Egypt crossing Friday, firing in the air and forcing European monitors to close the border and flee, Palestinian and European officials said. About 100 policemen entered the Rafah compound and took up positions alongside border patrol officers at the customs section of the crossing, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said.

The European observers - responsible for monitoring the crossing and ensuring the terms of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement are upheld - fled to an IDF base near the Gaza-Israel border, fearing the situation was spinning out of control, the officials said.

The takeover is the latest in a rash of armed kidnappings and takeovers of government buildings that underscore the lawlessness in Gaza and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' inability to bring order to the coastal area following this summer's pullout.

A British woman and her parents were kidnapped Wednesday by gunmen near the Rafah crossing. The family's fate remains unknown. Palestinian security are searching for the family, while British diplomats keep close tabs on the situation.

The border was closed because according to the Israeli-Palestinian agreement the crossing cannot operate if the European contingent is not present, said Julio De La Guardia, spokesman for the European monitors. "Our monitors are now in the Kerem Shalom military base. When the situation is clear, and these people leave, we will go back to our work," De La Guardia said. Kerem Shalom is an Israeli military base on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza.

The policemen who took over the crossing are angry over the killing of an officer Thursday in a family feud in Gaza. They are friends and family of the policeman who was killed, and are refusing to allow members of the two families and VIPs to leave Gaza.

Debkafile report offers a much darker and more sinister view of the incident.

DEBKAfile reported Sunday, Dec. 25, on the threat by Jemal Abu Sema Dana, head of the Palestinian Resistance Committees chief and Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades, to seize the Rafah terminal and “cleanse” it of foreign monitors. This latest incident signals the final breakdown of agreed measures for securing the Palestinian-Egyptian border built into the international understandings that permitted Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza. None of these measures are now working, regardless of Israeli government claims to the contrary, especially by defense minister Shaul Mofaz and security coordinator Amos Gilead. Palestinians sources are covering up the seizure by terrorists of the only Palestinian exit point by depicting it as a police blockade in protest against the killing of a fellow officer Thursday.

I suppose that at heart I am a cynic but this time I bet Debkafile account has story bang-on.