Deal OKd to Give Egypt Control of Gaza Border

Israel’s parliament Wednesday approved a plan for Egypt to post troops along that country’s border with Gaza, setting the stage for an Israeli military pullout from the coastal frontier it has held for 38 years.

But the stormy debate over giving up control to a former enemy and the possibility of Palestinian arms smuggling added fuel to the rivalry between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu.

The 53-28 parliamentary vote came as Netanyahu, who quit the Cabinet three weeks ago, opened a campaign to unseat Sharon as leader of the ruling Likud Party. The challenge was based on opposition to the pullout among Likud members. Although the evacuation of all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank had widespread public support, many in the traditionally pro-settlement party were opposed.

Israel is expected to turn over control of Gaza to the Palestinians in the middle of this month.

During the debate on the agreement with Egypt, Netanyahu insisted on Israeli control of the Egypt-Gaza border, the Gaza seacoast and airspace.

During more than four years of Palestinian-Israeli violence, Israeli forces have uncovered and destroyed dozens of tunnels under the border, used by Palestinians for smuggling weapons and contraband into Gaza.

But Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former army chief of staff and a Sharon ally, said, “I want to tell all the members of the house who don’t understand -- reality has changed.” He said the decision to allow Egyptian border police along the eight-mile stretch of desert “does not endanger Israel’s security.”