The Egyptian government's recent decision to open the Rafah border crossing point, the only land route into the Gaza Strip that doesn't pass through the Israeli territory, has left Israel scrambling for a response.

Following the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June 2007, Israel has imposed a land and maritime blockade on the enclave.

During the rule of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Cairo often kept the Rafah border crossing closed except for humanitarian reasons. However, after Mubarak's step down, the new Egyptian interim government has taken a different approach to the Hamas movement.

Analysts said while there is valid concern over what the opening of the crossing might mean in terms of military equipment reaching Hamas, Israel should take the opportunity to engage with Hamas, despite the organization's charter that calls for Israel's destruction.

CLOSE SUPERVISION

Uri Bar-Joseph of the Haifa University said that the consequences of the decision to open Rafah are not clear yet, because it remains to be seen what kind of supervision Egypt will provide at the crossing.

"If there are good inspections of what is going on at the crossing, then Hamas won't be able to pass the military materials, and it will have no security significance," Bar-Joseph said.

"But if it is used by Hamas to pass on weapons and other materials, then there is a problem," Bar-Joseph added.

Over the past decade, Hamas has been smuggling rockets in via tunnels under the border with Egypt, and produced thousands of rockets which were then fired at southern Israeli cities.

Bar-Joseph said some armaments are difficult to transfer via the tunnels due to the size, and if the Rafah crossing isn't under good surveillance, Hamas might be able to ferry in more sophisticated equipment overland.

Regarding the political background for the Egyptian decision, Bar-Joseph argued that the Fatah-Hamas accord reached last week in Cairo offers "a wider common ground for cooperation between Egypt, Fatah and Hamas."

DIFFERENT AGENDAS

Moshe Maoz of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told Xinhua that the decision was important because it showed that Egypt has taken a more positive stance towards Hamas, which is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, the opponent of Mubarak's government.

The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz said Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering sending his envoy Isaac Molho to Egypt in the coming days to talk with the new leadership over its new policy.

Maoz said Israel can do nothing to influence the new Egyptian government, adding that the clearest point of disagreement is over the continued blockade on Gaza.

After a commando raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in May, 2010 that left nine activists dead, Israel has relaxed its blockade on the strip, however, Israel has been very cautious about allowing cement and other building materials into Gaza, over concerns that Hamas and other militant groups might use these to construct fortifications and build more missiles.

TALK TO ENEMY

Netanyahu has said that the reconciliation deal to be signed with Hamas in Cairo by Fatah would be a choice between peace with Israel or a government with Hamas.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was quoted as saying that Israel wouldn't negotiate with Hamas unless the group recognizes Israel.

"Israel complains that Hamas doesn't recognize it and that Hamas is a terrorist organization, but as the saying goes, 'you don't talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies,'" Maoz said.

Maoz argued that while Israel may not see the decision as a positive thing, "there is a lot of opportunity here" for Israel to engage with Hamas both over the current stalemate in peace negotiations, especially following last week's reconciliation deal with Fatah, and for the return of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Shalit was abducted from an army post along the Israel-Gaza border in June 2006. Negotiations for his release are reportedly being conducted under German supervision, but Israel and Hamas have so far not been able to reach a deal.

Maoz, on the other hand, argued that it's very important that Hamas be included in negotiations, perhaps under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), of which Fatah is the largest member.

"Because Israel can't do business with half of the Palestinian nation," Maoz said.