NETANYA, Israel, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The commander of the European monitors at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt tacitly criticized Israel for closing it too often.
The Rafah Crossing is the Gazans' only exit to the outside world. Lt. Gen. Pietro Pistolese, an Italian who heads the monitoring force called EU BAM, told United Press International some 340,000 people have crossed there since its opening in November 2005.
The situation changed dramatically after Palestinian militants kidnapped Israel Cpl. Gilad Shalit last June 25. Since then the crossing has been open on only 18 percent of the days and 80,000 people have crossed. If not for these closures, more than 500,000 people would have crossed by now, he said.
Pistolese noted some 1.4 million people live in Gaza and closing crossings there would increase terrorists' chances of winning followers. Boosting the economy and increasing freedom of movement would reduce the "landscape" for the terrorists, he maintained.
Addressing a conference on "The Impact of Third Party Involvement on the Peace Process," at the Center for Strategic Dialogue in the Netanya College, Pistolese said he was "confident no military equipment has been smuggled" through that crossing. Equipment suspected of being for military use was confiscated and destroyed, he said.
Shlomo Dror, spokesman for the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Administered Territories, insisted Israel did not close Rafah to pressure the Palestinians to release Shalit. Had they wanted to use such pressure they would have shut the water and electricity supplies, he said.
Dror said Palestinians have been engaged in smuggling through the Rafah Crossing. Since the Hamas-led government took over about eight months ago, some $90 million have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip. "God know what else was smuggled," he said.
