Egyptian soldiers patrolling a road parallel to the Philadelphia Corridor, March 19, 2007. (Credit: Cris Bouroncle/AFP archives)
Israel's control over the Philadelphi Corridor has increased tensions with Egypt as Cairo is now using Israeli presence on the Gaza border to justify a surge in the number of its troops in Sinai, according to Saudi-owned political news journal Al Majalla.
Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979 that ended the war between the two countries and gave back control of the Sinai to Cairo while restricting the number of troops Egypt is allowed to deploy there especially in the northern part along the border with Gaza and Israel. Many Egyptians saw this restriction as a blow to their national sovereignty.
Amid the Gaza war between Hamas and Israel which started in October, Israel took over, in May, the Philadelphi Corridor — a 14-kilometre stretch of land that separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt — and is unwilling to withdraw from it, which marks a violation of the 1979 peace treaty. In late May, an exchange of fire took place between Egyptian and Israeli troops along the Sinai-Gaza border, which killed an Egyptian border guard.
Many in Egypt now see that following the Israeli move, Egypt has an "excuse to boost its own military presence in the strategic desert," according to Al Majalla.
"A major deployment of Egyptian troops in the Sinai will have major and long-lasting implications for regional security," the Saudi-owned political news journal adds.
On September 5, the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Khalifa, "paid a surprise visit to Egypt's border with Gaza, in what was perceived as a clear message to Israel: We are here as long as you are there."
Egypt has been bolstering its security presence in Sinai since last October amid fears of a spillover of violence from Gaza.
Egypt fears forced displacement of Palestinians towards Sinai, especially since Israel's war on Gaza has made much of the Strip uninhabitable.
According to Al Majalla, "If this happens, it would be a final blow to Palestinian statehood dreams and turn the Sinai into a permanent refugee camp —something that would harm Egypt's own national security as Palestinian fighters could turn it into a launching pad for future attacks on Israel."
Head of the Middle East Centre for Strategic Studies, Samir Ghattas, told Al Majalla that "Egypt must bolster its troop presence along its border with Gaza to deal with the growing security challenges it has faced since October of last year."
"Israel's occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor was the final straw," he told Al Majalla.
Meanwhile, Nasr Salem, the former assistant to the Egyptian defense minister, told Al Majalla that "Egypt wants to send a message to Israel that it might be difficult to restrain its troops deployed along the border with Gaza, should Israel stay in Philadelphi."
This limited troop presence in Sinai turned it into a hotbed for extremism and terrorism, especially after the downfall of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Following that, Egypt carried out a nearly decade-long counter-terrorism operation against extremists. This operation finally paid off last year but it cost Egypt a lot in terms of casualties and resources.