Mr. Mubarak, 0 Build Up This Wall

Early this year, Hamas blew-up the barricade between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and "hundreds of thousands" of Palestinians fled across the border. After a few weeks, Egypt re-closed the border. Then--as a stop-gap--Egypt replaced its barbed-wire. Now, with U.S. help, Egypt has begun . . . wait for it . . . walling off its borders with Gaza and Israel by building a 10-foot high concrete wall topped by guard towers every 100 feet.

A wall . . . where have we heard this before?:

Much ado has been made of the Israeli security fence isolating the West Bank. When it is completed in 2010, the barrier--which runs roughly along the 1967 border between Israel and Palestinian territory--will span nearly 500 miles. Israelis say the purpose of the structure is to curtail terrorist attacks against the Jewish state. There's little reason to doubt them: Despite a March attack that killed eight students at a Jerusalem seminary, statistics suggest that the barrier and a corresponding one around Gaza are working.

West Bankers condemn the structure because it encroaches into pre-1967 Palestinian territory, limits mobility, and separates farmers from their fields. Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since June 2007, describes its territory as "a big prison." Until recently, Egypt too was a vociferous critic. In 2003, Egypt's foreign minister at the time, Ahmed Maher, described the structure as "defying international legitimacy and world public opinion." . . .

With tensions along the border increasing, Egypt has softened its position on Israel's West Bank barrier. In March, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said, "Whoever wishes to build a security fence on his land is free to do that."

Egypt's new position is in accord with wall building by Morocco and Saudi Arabia--and the United States. In other words, everyone but Israel.