Egypt: Sudden Believer in Walls

Egypt Builds a Wall and Changes Its Tune on Israel's Barrier - David Schenker
In January 2008, Hamas demolished the Gaza-Egypt border fence, allowing an estimated 700,000 Palestinians - nearly half of Gaza's population - to stream into the Sinai desert. Then reality set in. The prospect of Hamas hooking up with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood terrifies the government of Egypt. With tensions along the border increasing, Egypt has softened its position on Israel's West Bank barrier.  In March, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said, "Whoever wishes to build a security fence on his land is free to do that." Subsequently, it was announced that Egypt, with $23 million in U.S. assistance, would build its own fence along the border with Gaza. At the end of the day, the Gaza border is a matter of Egyptian national security. So despite the comparisons that will be drawn between the Israeli and Egyptian barriers, Cairo had few alternatives other than to move ahead with a wall of its own. The writer is senior fellow and director of the program in Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. (Weekly Standard)