Why has Egypt confirmed that it will support South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide? The answer lies in the significance of the Philadelphi Corridor or the Salah Al-Din Axis.

On May 12 Egypt confirmed that it has joined the South African lawsuit against Israel, becoming the sixth Arab country to join following Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Libya. Other countries such as Turkiye, Ireland, Colombia, Bolivia, The Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Malaysia have also announced formal support for South Africa’s case against Israel.

This move by Egypt has come following the wide spread anger toward Israel and support for Palestinians across the Egyptian population which has been outraged at the suffering, the slaughter, the mass murder especially of Palestinian women and children. There is also extensive anger at the failure of Israel to provide humanitarian aid amid the growing starvation and man made famine in Gaza in addition to the horrific, almost complete, destruction of all of the housing and all other infrastructure in Gaza. Egyptians have access to social media informing them of the harsh reality and devastation that Palestinians are suffering daily and the government is starting to come under pressure.

The move to join other countries in the South African case also signals Egypt’s growing frustration with Israel’s lack of progress on negotiations for a ceasefire, the IDF’s move into eastern Rafah and the take over of the Rafah crossing, long used as an important aid corridor. This move also directly threatens the Philadelphi Corridor.

This corridor, also called the Salah Al-Din Axis, is the 14-kilometre long and 100-meter-wide strip of land that separates Gaza and Egypt and it runs from the Mediterranean coast to the Israeli Kerem Shalom crossing where the borders of Egypt, the Gaza Strip and Israel meet. It is also where the city of Rafah and the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is located. This has long been a contentious corridor. It was a key element, four decades ago, of the Camp David Peace Accords and the ensuring peace treaty........

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