In fact, some Ethiopian political analysts are convinced that Eritrea’s 1995-1996 War with Yemen over Hannish Islands (where many Ethiopian soldiers lost their lives once Zenawi sent them disguised as Eritrean soldiers), and Eritrea’s incursion into Djibouti up to the moment, are carefully planned to help Eritrea establish historical precedents over Ethiopia.
The scholars suggest Eritrea’s frequent border skirmishes with the neighboring countries are designed to consolidate Asmara’s sovereignty rights in the event Ethiopia falls back into the hand of an Ethiopian government, and begins to establish legal and historical evidences for the reclamation of the Red Sea coast. In other words, when Asmara clashes with Yemeni or Djibouti forces, Zenawi’s utter silence is in tandem with the tacit agreement he had shared with Eritrea’s strong man, Isaias Afewerki, for several decades now. With this background in mind, details are in the Al Ahram story below. – Abraha Belai, executive editor of Ethiomedia.com
CONTROLLING EAST AFRICA
The commander of the Israeli navy said, “Control over the Suez Canal only gives Egypt one key to the Red Sea. The second and more important key from the strategic point of view is the Bab Al-Mandeb. This could fall into Israeli hands if it could develop its naval force in the Red Sea zone.”
Elyahu Salbetter writes that Israeli defence strategists and planners are fully aware of the Arab threat to Israel in the Red Sea, which underscores the need for Israel to establish closer relations with non-Arab countries in east Africa.
Certainly, since 1990 the political climate has been even more conducive to Israel’s ends. With the aid of its strategic alliance with the US and its overall military superiority, Israel has succeeded in strengthening its political, economic and military ties with Red Sea nations.
Several Arab studies have concluded that Eritrea’s occupation of the Hanish Islands in December 1995 was supported and engineered by Israel with the aim of gaining a stronger foothold in the southern Red Sea. Apparently that move had been a relatively long time in the planning.
As early as 1990 an Israeli delegation visited Asmara to gather intelligence on the situation in Eritrea and the southern Red Sea area. Israeli strategists then drew up an urgent plan for a more vigorous foreign policy towards east Africa. Discussed in a five-hour secret Knesset session on 16 March 1992, the most important points in the plan were: To normalise relations with such African countries as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia, Togo, Mozambique and Kenya, and to counter Arab influence in Africa; to strengthen Israeli military presence in the Red Sea and in Eritrea and Ethiopia; and to strengthen economic ties between Eritrea and Israel.
