The source warned that this would consolidate “Israeli control over the southern border of Gaza”
The Islamic movement Hamas accused Israel on Monday of imposing “impossible conditions” to reopen the Rafah border crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to Egypt, thus “obstructing” international efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to a source from the group.
The informant, who requested anonymity, stated that Israeli conditions include the establishment of a checkpoint additional control of Israel after the Palestinian inside the crossing, something that would grant “indirect security control” over the crossing.
The Hamas source detailed that the plan requires those entering Gaza to first pass through the Rafah crossing and then follow a route that leads to an Israeli inspection.
According to the informant, the conditions also include “the ban on the entry of Palestinians born outside the Strip during or before the war, with a firm refusal to allow the number of people entering Gaza to exceed those leaving”, thus causing a net exodus of the population.
The third condition involves moving the passage to the border triangle near the Kerem Shalom crossing, in what is known as “Rafah 2”, he added, denouncing that this “is an attempt to permanently disable the traditional Rafah crossing and the Philadelphia corridor” – the 14 kilometer border between Gaza and Egypt.
The source warned that this would consolidate “Israeli control over the southern border of Gaza”, highlighting that Egypt “rejected any change in the management of the crossing, emphasizing that it must be under joint Palestinian-Egyptian control”.
The reaction comes after the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in the early hours of Monday that the flow of people would only be stopped, as soon as the search for the body of the last hostage still in Gaza was concluded.
HoweverIsrael has not confirmed any date, although last Thursday the president of the technocratic Palestinian committee, Ali Shaaz, assured that the opening would take place this week.
The Rafah crossing should have been reopened in the initial phase of the ceasefire negotiated by United States President Donald Trump in October last year, but Israel has imposed obstacles during these months.
This crossing, the main exit and entry point between Gaza and the outside world and the only one that was not controlled by Israel, has remained practically closed since May 2024, after the Israeli Army occupied the Palestinian part of this land crossing.
*EFE
