EU offers to take charge of Gaza crossings

The European Union is offering to take charge of Gaza’s border crossings and work to prevent illegal arms flows, insisting on a durable ceasefire and saying a return to the status quo for the region “is not an option.”

At an urgent meeting in Brussels about global conflicts, EU foreign ministers offer to reactivate and potentially extend its monitoring of Rafah and other border crossings — if given a mandate by the UN Security Council and if it helps living conditions improve in Gaza.

In a statement, they say they could also work to prevent arms smuggling and launch a training program for Palestinian Authority police and customs officers to be deployed in Gaza. They say terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm and an overall peace deal remains the main objective.

“The situation in the Gaza Strip has been unsustainable for many years and a return to the status quo prior to the latest conflict is not an option,” they say.

–AP