Egypt closes Rafah for fourth day, media still mostly silent

Egypt has now closed Rafah for four consecutive days, this time without even informing the Palestinian Authority as they used to do.

An Egyptian source told the German Press agency that the crossing would be closed "indefinitely."

France24, unusually, is calling Egypts actions in Rafah a "blockade." But for the most part the media has been muted in any criticism of Egypt for what would be considered a human rights violation when Israel does it.

Meanwhile, Israel allowed 250 trucks of materials into Gaza today - but the ban on construction materials remains in place.

I have yet to see any Western media outlet note that Egypt, under Morsi, allowed construction materials to be sent through the Rafah crossing less than a year ago. There is nothing physically stopping Egypt from fully supplying its fellow Arabs in Gaza with everything they need.

In related news, YNet reports that Hamas is building a huge arsenal of rockets that could reach Tel Aviv in anticipation of the next conflict.

Egypt's security concerns for closing off Hamas from its territory is essentially unquestioned by the West. Israel, which is Hamas' sworn enemy, gets no such understanding.