Negotiators in the US, UAE and Israel are hammering out proposals for Gaza’s governance after the end of the war
January 22, 2025 14:43
ByAkiva van Koningsveld, Jewish News Syndicate
Israel has not agreed to hand control of the Rafah crossing over to the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Reports surfaced today that Mossad Director David Barnea and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar had told the head of Egyptian General Intelligence that the PA would run the vital route across the Gaza-Egypt border under the supervision of the UN.
The border crossing is currently being managed by "Gazans not affiliated with Hamas, with Shin Bet security [oversight]," the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed. These are the same Gazans "who have been managing civilian services in the Strip, such as electricity, water and sewage, since the start of the war," it added.
They are being supervised by representatives of the European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah, the PMO said.
The statement went on that, as of now, Israeli forces are still "positioned around the crossing, and there is no passage without the supervision, oversight and advance approval of the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency"
The PA's only "practical involvement" at this time is its "stamp on the passports, which, according to the existing international arrangement, is the only way Gazans may leave the Strip in order to enter, or be received in, other countries," according to the PMO.
It went on to note that, while this procedure is "correct" for the first stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the framework will be evaluated in the future.
It comes after, Kan News reported that the Israeli negotiating team, which includes Barnea and Bar, met with Egyptian officials to discuss issues expected to come up during negotiations regarding the second and third stages of the ceasefire.
The parties reportedly talked about Israel's commitment under the deal to reduce its military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, as well as the IDF’s withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor that divides the southern and northern halves of the Strip, and the deportation of Palestinian prisoners set to be released on Saturday.
After the IDF seized control of the Rafah crossing in early May, Egypt moved to close the route, refusing to work with Jerusalem on the matter until Israeli soldiers fully withdrew from the border area.
The PA also reportedly rebuffed an Israeli offer for it to help manage the border crossing while the war on Hamas was still ongoing.
Israel opposes either Hamas or PA rule over the Strip, with Prime Minister Netanyahu favouring a transfer of control to local bodies not considered hostile to the Jewish state.
But Washington is believed to favour the installation of the PA as the governing body in Gaza, conditional on significant institutional reforms.