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This week, the IDF launched in Rafah its largest operation since Defensive Shield, with the main objective of preventing an arms build-up on the Palestinian side.
According to Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, Palestinian gangs were planning to smuggle missiles through tunnels under the Rafah corridor, which could place Ashkelon in their range and threaten the air force's activity in the area.
For its part, the IDF has explored a range of counter-measures, including the possibility of digging a moat over the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Yet these and other bright ideas ignore one basic truth: The arms smuggled into Gaza do not come from nowhere. They arrive via different routes all of which pass through a neighboring sovereign country - one with which Israel has a peace treaty and diplomatic relations, at least nominally.
The official Israeli line on Egypt is that "they are doing, but could do more." In reality, ambassador to Cairo Eli Shaked has continuously warned the Egyptians of the developments, to little avail.
Egypt is no banana republic. It has a strong central government and aggressive security forces. Its leaders would not possibly agree to arms shipments moving unchecked through its territory.
The Egyptian tactics are clear: To allow mutual blood-letting between Israelis and Palestinian while maintaining an appearance of impartiality. Every few months security czar Omar Suleiman flies in to conduct cease-fire talks between the two sides, gaining Cairo kudos from the State Department in Washington.
What is less understandable is the Israeli silence over this state of affairs. Senior IDF officers, when asked in recent briefings, shied away from blaming Egypt. The commander of the Southern Command, Maj.-Gen. Dan Harel, even credited the Egyptians a few weeks ago with making efforts.
Does the government feel it has enough trouble as it is without picking a fight with Egypt, or is it that 25 years after signing the Camp David Accords, expectations of our southern neighbor have simply withered away?
The absence of an Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv no longer seems odd to anyone, nor does the virtual extinction of any commercial or cultural ties between the two neighbors. On the diplomatic front, there are no regular consultations on any of the important issues confronting both countries and the region as a whole. President Hosni Mubarak is one of Israel's most vociferous critics, often surpassing the leaders of Syria and Iran.
Last week, the Egyptians allowed IDF chaplains to cross the border and collect the remains of last week's fallen soldiers. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's effusive thanks angered many in Israel's diplomatic corps. "It was only a routine humanitarian gesture," said one senior Israeli diplomat.
Perhaps it's time Israel showed some more self-respect on this front. An overt threat that Israel will not hesitate to prevent the smuggling even by crossing into Egypt may be worth considering. It should make Cairo address the problem publicly.
Longer-term measures could include adopting plans that call on Egypt to allow some Palestinian expansion into the vast and empty Sinai that lies just beyond the minuscule and cramped Gaza Strip. And perhaps a formal complaint to the US, which annually hands Cairo more than $1 billion in aid, should also be considered. If it continues to abuse Israel the way it has been throughout the Mubarak presidency, Cairo might soon learn it has brought Israel to the point where it feels that insofar as its relations with Egypt are concerned, the Jewish state no longer has anything to lose.
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