Border Crossings and Security | The American Task Force on Palestine

Palestinians close Gaza border in protest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian officials closed the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the terminal's director Ayyoub Abu Sha'ar said. Closed out of frustration, Abu Sha'ar said the Egyptian authority's 'mechanism' at the terminal was unclear, citing Egypt's decision to close the crossing on Saturday without coordinating with Palestinian officials. He said said operations had been halted after disagreements about capacity and coordination, and would not resume until officials on both sides came to an agreement on its operation.

IDF: Protesters caused their own deaths
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hanan Greenberg - June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The IDF said Monday morning that many of the Syrian protesters who stormed the border fence and Quneitra crossing in honor of 'Naksa Day' were responsible for their own deaths by igniting mine fields on the border. Meanwhile the army also announced at around 11:30 am that although the border demonstration had ended by late Sunday night, many were gathering once again in an area nearby. No violence was reported.

Israel Disputes Toll of Border Clashes, Saying Syria Has an Ulterior Motive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli military officials on Monday disputed the casualty figures announced by Syria a day earlier, after Israeli forces fired on protesters who had tried to breach the Syrian frontier border with the Israeli-held Golan Heights. The discrepancy in numbers underlined the messages being conveyed by each side. According to the Syrian version of events, Israel shot to kill unarmed demonstrators who were trying to reclaim their lost lands — whether in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war, or in areas that are now part of Israel.

Israeli Soldiers Shoot at Protesters on Syrian Border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli forces fired at pro-Palestinian protesters on the Syrian frontier on Sunday as they tried to breach the border for the second time in three weeks, reflecting a new mode of popular struggle and deadly confrontation fueled by turmoil in the Arab world and the vacuum of stalled peace talks.

Killing Them Softly?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - (Opinion) June 2, 2011 - 12:00am

“Here’s what they did,” says the commander of an Israeli reserve combat company deployed in the northern West Bank. “They dumped on us thousands of rounds of rubber bullets, cases of stun grenades and tear gas and that’s it. That’s the great Israeli army doctrine on how to cope with this Naksa.” “God help us if [the Palestinians] start staging a non-violent march our way,” the officer told The Media Line, on condition he not be identified.

Scores at Rafah spark tension with Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

An escalated crisis between Egypt and the Hamas government of the Gaza Strip was dampened Tuesday night, as officials met over ways to handle the flood of Palestinians seeking to cross the Rafah border terminal. Following the May 28 opening of the Gaza-Egypt border, for almost unfettered access to Palestinians except men between 18-40, floods of would-be travelers arrived prepared to cross, overwhelming the terminal.

Open Border at Gaza Is Not So Open, Palestinians Find
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram - June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

Days after Egypt, with great fanfare, opened its border permanently with Gaza, new restrictions have been imposed on Palestinians who want to cross, and the area’s Hamas rulers spoke on Wednesday with frustration and anger. Only three buses, carrying a total of 150 passengers, entered the Egyptian hall at the Rafah crossing on Wednesday, while five others remained stuck on the Palestinian side, Hamas officials said two hours before closing.

Ours is not to reason why
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

No, no, Egypt can’t open its border with Gaza – the terrorists will come in and threaten our security, our very existence! So last week Egypt opens its border with Gaza, and suddenly it’s no big deal, maybe we’re better off, now the Gazans won’t be able to complain so much that we’re starving them. Never mind.

Over 1,600 Israelis enter Nablus overnight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli soldiers escorted 1,600 Jewish settlers into the northern West Bank city of Nablus overnight Sunday to visit a shrine in the area, known to many Jews as Joseph's Tomb. While accompaniment by Israeli forces remains mandatory according to laws governing settlers, an additional 200 Jewish worshipers entered Palestinian neighborhoods without coordinating with Israeli authorities, an Israeli military spokesman said.

Israel nervous, but major change in Egypt relations unlikely
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm
(Analysis) May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Before Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, bringing the Sinai Peninsula back into Egypt’s possession, Moshe Dayan, Israel’s eye patch-wearing foreign minister, had no doubt about what the deal would mean for his nation’s security. “If a wheel is removed,” he reportedly said, “the car will not run again.” In other words, if Egypt was taken away from the field of battle, the Arab world could never again pose a threat to the Jewish state.

Video: Inside ATFP Gala 2013

Photo Gallery: ATFP Gala 2013

Recent News