PM’s office partially denies report it agreed to allow Palestinian Authority to run Rafah crossing

Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel

Israeli forces operating on the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 7, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces/AFP)
Israeli forces operating on the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 7, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces/AFP)

Israel partially denies a report in a Saudi-owned news outlet that it has agreed to allow the Palestinian Authority to take control of the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt when it reopens.

However, the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office notes that the PA currently plays some role in approving exit visas and it also leaves open the possibility for it to play a larger role in the future.

The PMO statement accuses the PA of trying to “create the false impression that it controls the crossing.”

The PMO notes that the IDF is currently deployed at the crossing point and “nobody passes through it without supervision and approval from the IDF and Shin Bet.” It claims that “non-Hamas Gazans” provide technical management of the crossing with international oversight, and the PA provides the stamp on passports allowing Gazans to exit the Strip.

The report in the UK-based Asharq Al-Awsat said that during conversations this week in Cairo between Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Mossad head David Barnea and Egyptian intelligence officials, they agreed to allow the PA to manage the crossing “under international and UN supervision.”

The report, citing a source familiar with the meetings, noted that the current arrangements are temporary and “concern this stage only of the ceasefire.”

The PMO also admits that the current arrangement at the crossing is for the “first stage of the deal and will be reexamined later.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly vowed that the PA cannot assume control of Gaza after the war, although many international observers and Israeli defense officials have suggested it is the most viable alternative.

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