Cairo, Washington working together to find a solution for Philadelphi smuggling.
By JPOST.COM STAFFjp.services1(photo credit: )
Egypt opposes the deployment of a multi-national force along the Philadelphi Corridor, the London based Asharq alawsat newspaper reported Tuesday.
Cairo and Washington have been working together to find a solution regarding the issue, an Egyptian source told the newspaper.
"Egypt will also brief US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her next visit in the region regarding [Egypt's] position to reject the multi-national force in Gaza," the official added.
Egypt nabs 20 Sudanese at Sinai border
Weapons are frequently smuggled through the border and Egypt has often been accused of passivity in its actions towards securing the corridor.
On Saturday, Hamas rejected a call, initiated by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, to deploy an international force in the Gaza Strip, warning that its men would attack any such organization.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who heads one of two rival PA governments, said an international force was not acceptable. "We in Gaza and the Palestinian territories are under occupation and we don't need any more forces to pressure the Palestinian people," Haniyeh said during a tour of a home in Gaza City that belongs to the estate of Yasser Arafat. "We are able to solve our problems."
Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.
