 Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak shaking hands with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R), port of Alexandria, Egypt, Aug. 26 |
Egypt has won Israel's praise for cooperating with the regime in its efforts to stop arms from reaching the Palestinian government in Gaza.
"There is an accumulation of weapons and equipment meant for Hamas in Sinai, but Egypt is preventing it from getting into the Strip," Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a Sunday cabinet security briefing.
"We have created an effective diplomatic mechanism to stop smuggling by harnessing Egypt, the US and the European Union's support,” he added.
"There is an accumulation of weapons and equipment meant for Hamas in Sinai, but Egypt is preventing it from getting into the Strip," Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a Sunday cabinet security briefing.
"We have created an effective diplomatic mechanism to stop smuggling by harnessing Egypt, the US and the European Union's support,” he added.
Barak also said Egyptian officials have discussed the arms smugglings with the head of Israeli Defense Ministry's Security-Diplomatic Bureau Amos Gilad in Cairo last Thursday.
The Israeli minister's comments came as Egyptian authorities completely sealed the Rafah border crossing into Gaza by deploying troops to the terminal, despite the dire humanitarian situation in the heavily bombarded coastal strip, which has been under a 19-month siege.
Hamas has also sharply criticized Cairo for refusing to keep the crossing open to wounded Palestinian people during the deadly Israeli offensive which killed nearly 1330 Palestinians mostly civilians.
The Israeli minister's comments came as Egyptian authorities completely sealed the Rafah border crossing into Gaza by deploying troops to the terminal, despite the dire humanitarian situation in the heavily bombarded coastal strip, which has been under a 19-month siege.
Hamas has also sharply criticized Cairo for refusing to keep the crossing open to wounded Palestinian people during the deadly Israeli offensive which killed nearly 1330 Palestinians mostly civilians.
In Sunday comments in Brussels, Egyptian Foreign Minister Abul Gheit, however, said that the bulk of any smuggling that might occur would come from Gaza's Israeli controlled waters.
This is while the European Union and its key members such as France, Britain and Germany have offered to help Israel block Palestinian access to weapons.
This is while the European Union and its key members such as France, Britain and Germany have offered to help Israel block Palestinian access to weapons.
 Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak praises Egypt at a weekly cabinet meeting, Jan. 25 |
The EU has promised to increase its monitoring at the Rafah terminal, while France has sent a frigate and a helicopter to observe international waters off the coast of Gaza.
Reports indicate that US engineers have also inspected the Rafah crossing, installed screening devices, which can detect underground tunnels at the terminal, and trained Egyptian forces on how to operate them.
Reports indicate that US engineers have also inspected the Rafah crossing, installed screening devices, which can detect underground tunnels at the terminal, and trained Egyptian forces on how to operate them.
This is while the democratically-elected Palestinian government of Hamas, which controls Gaza, has said that no one has the right to prevent the Palestinian people from rearming.
"No one has the right to prevent the Palestinians from equipping themselves with weapons as long as the occupation continues," Hamas representative Osama Hamdan said in Lebanon.
The movement says it will accept no truce deal that prohibits the transfer of arms 'necessary for defending Gazans'. Hamas is the legal, constitutional and elected Palestinian authority.
Israel, however, is the Middle East's main arms importer and nuclear armed power.
In early December, a US-hired German vessel carried a massive cargo of weapons that weighed over 2.6 million kg and filled up to 989 standard 20-foot containers from North Carolina to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
In September, the US Congress approved a plan to sell Israel 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, of the Guided Bomb Unit-39 (GBU-39), that use GPS to find their way and are able to penetrate deep fortified constructions.
Last week, the Jerusalem Post, reported that bombs that arrived as part of the shipment had been used in the military onslaught in Gaza.
"No one has the right to prevent the Palestinians from equipping themselves with weapons as long as the occupation continues," Hamas representative Osama Hamdan said in Lebanon.
The movement says it will accept no truce deal that prohibits the transfer of arms 'necessary for defending Gazans'. Hamas is the legal, constitutional and elected Palestinian authority.
Israel, however, is the Middle East's main arms importer and nuclear armed power.
In early December, a US-hired German vessel carried a massive cargo of weapons that weighed over 2.6 million kg and filled up to 989 standard 20-foot containers from North Carolina to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
In September, the US Congress approved a plan to sell Israel 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, of the Guided Bomb Unit-39 (GBU-39), that use GPS to find their way and are able to penetrate deep fortified constructions.
Last week, the Jerusalem Post, reported that bombs that arrived as part of the shipment had been used in the military onslaught in Gaza.
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