The American website Axios reported that the White House is scheduled to hold a tripartite meeting between American, Egyptian and Israeli officials in Cairo next week to discuss reopening the Rafah crossing and a plan to secure the border between Egypt and Gaza.
No official comments were issued by Egypt or Israel, but the Axios website quotes 3 American and Israeli officials as saying that an American delegation headed by Terry Wolf, the chief director of the Middle East in the National Security Council at the White House, is expected to travel to Egypt in the coming days.
Axios indicated that the trip was agreed upon during a phone call last Friday between US President Joe Biden and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The website stated that Sisi agreed – during the call – to Biden’s request to resume the flow of aid trucks to Gaza, after they stopped two weeks ago in protest against Israel’s control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
An American official said, “Biden told Sisi that if the delivery of aid trucks is not resumed, the United States will publicly criticize Egypt because of that.”
Israeli and American officials stated that a delegation of Israeli security officials is also expected to travel to Cairo at the same time.
The officials said that the White House wants to hold a tripartite meeting between Terry Wolf, his accompanying delegation, representatives of the Egyptian army, the intelligence service, and the Israeli delegation.
Issues raised
American officials said that one of the main issues in the talks will be a plan for how to reopen the Rafah crossing without an Israeli military presence on the Palestinian side of the crossing.
Israel presented to Egypt a plan to reopen the crossing with the participation of the United Nations and Palestinian representatives from Gaza who are not linked to the Hamas movement, according to the American website.
As part of the potential plan, the Israeli army will redeploy outside the crossing and secure it from the outside “from Hamas attacks,” as the American website put it.
American officials said that the United States also wants to discuss a plan to limit what it believes is a weapons smuggling route by building an underground “wall” against tunnels on the border between Egypt and Gaza.
The officials stated that the United States wants to discuss with Egypt the possibility of forming a “transitional force” to assume responsibility for security in Gaza the day after the war.
Axios indicated that the United States wants Egypt to play a major role in a security force alongside other Arab countries. American officials said that there is interest among several countries in the region to participate – under certain political circumstances – in a temporary Arab security force in Gaza that would secure the borders, provide humanitarian aid, and train a new Palestinian security force.
