At Tuesday’s session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Chairman Yuval Shteinitz (Likud) accused Defense Minister Mofaz (Kadima) of lying to the committee in regard to a purported agreement to operate the Rafiah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Mofaz told the committee that Israel had worked out a written agreement with the Palestinian Authority on operating the terminal. That agreement, brokered by the United States, was reportedly designed to protect Israeli security interests at the terminal without actually having an Israeli presence there.
Now, it appears, no such agreement has been signed. “The Rafiah agreement never existed,” charged Shteinitz. “This is the most serious case [ever] of deception of the Knesset,” he said.
Shteinitz said Mofaz’s alleged deception casts doubt on his ability to continue to serve as Defense Minister.
Other committee members, spanning the political spectrum, also had harsh words for Mofaz. MK Ran Cohen (Meretz-Yahad) said Mofaz’s conduct reminded him of the inaccurate information Mofaz gave to the committee regarding the reasons for not renewing former Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya’alon’s contract with the IDF.
MK Effie Eitam (National Union) called the Defense Minister an outright “liar” for deceiving the committee on the Rafiah deal.
Shteinitz explained that when the committee first asked the Defense Ministry for a copy of the agreement, the ministry said it could not be released because it was top secret.
Later, the ministry said that the agreement’s details had already been presented to the committee.
Finally, however, ministry officials admitted that no such agreement on operating the Rafiah terminal had been signed with the Palestinian Authority. The only thing that existed was an unsigned, American brokered declaration of principles. According to the Defense Ministry, the unsigned declaration of principles also has an annex that cannot be revealed to the public.
In response to what the committee termed “foot dragging” by the Defense Ministry, the committee unanimously adopted a resolution “reiterating that the government’s obligation to report to the committee does not expire in the period prior to elections.”
According to reports, Israel claimed that it needed a presence at the terminal in order to prevent free movement of terrorists into and out of Gaza.
Under pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israel agreed to an arrangement where it would be allowed to view persons entering and exiting the terminal via closed circuit television.
Senior Islamic Jihad terrorists from Gaza boasted on Monday to an Arab newspaper about how easy it was for them to leave Gaza via Rafiah and travel to Saudi Arabia for the Haj, and meet with Islamic Jihad officials from Syrian and Lebanon. Those terrorists have since returned unhindered to their bases in Gaza.
Mofaz told the committee that Israel had worked out a written agreement with the Palestinian Authority on operating the terminal. That agreement, brokered by the United States, was reportedly designed to protect Israeli security interests at the terminal without actually having an Israeli presence there.
Now, it appears, no such agreement has been signed. “The Rafiah agreement never existed,” charged Shteinitz. “This is the most serious case [ever] of deception of the Knesset,” he said.
Shteinitz said Mofaz’s alleged deception casts doubt on his ability to continue to serve as Defense Minister.
Other committee members, spanning the political spectrum, also had harsh words for Mofaz. MK Ran Cohen (Meretz-Yahad) said Mofaz’s conduct reminded him of the inaccurate information Mofaz gave to the committee regarding the reasons for not renewing former Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya’alon’s contract with the IDF.
MK Effie Eitam (National Union) called the Defense Minister an outright “liar” for deceiving the committee on the Rafiah deal.
Shteinitz explained that when the committee first asked the Defense Ministry for a copy of the agreement, the ministry said it could not be released because it was top secret.
Later, the ministry said that the agreement’s details had already been presented to the committee.
Finally, however, ministry officials admitted that no such agreement on operating the Rafiah terminal had been signed with the Palestinian Authority. The only thing that existed was an unsigned, American brokered declaration of principles. According to the Defense Ministry, the unsigned declaration of principles also has an annex that cannot be revealed to the public.
In response to what the committee termed “foot dragging” by the Defense Ministry, the committee unanimously adopted a resolution “reiterating that the government’s obligation to report to the committee does not expire in the period prior to elections.”
According to reports, Israel claimed that it needed a presence at the terminal in order to prevent free movement of terrorists into and out of Gaza.
Under pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israel agreed to an arrangement where it would be allowed to view persons entering and exiting the terminal via closed circuit television.
Senior Islamic Jihad terrorists from Gaza boasted on Monday to an Arab newspaper about how easy it was for them to leave Gaza via Rafiah and travel to Saudi Arabia for the Haj, and meet with Islamic Jihad officials from Syrian and Lebanon. Those terrorists have since returned unhindered to their bases in Gaza.