The American website Axios quoted officials as saying that Israel proposed to the Palestinian Authority to participate, informally, in operating the Rafah crossing and as a local aid committee, which angered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The officials explained that the Israeli condition, which included ignoring the affiliation of the members of the Authority and defining them as a local aid committee, angered Abbas and his advisors, who refused to work at the Rafah crossing secretly, according to what the site reported from 4 American, Israeli and Palestinian officials.
“Axios” added that this proposal is the first since last October 7, in which Israel agreed to discuss any interference by the Palestinian Authority in what he called the rule of the Gaza Strip, and that it comes in the wake of the closure of the Rafah crossing after the Israeli army took control of the Palestinian side of it on Monday. the past.
The site stated that since that closure, Egypt has “stopped” the transport of aid trucks through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, and said that it will resume allowing the passage of trucks after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Rafah crossing, whose control of it caused a halt to the entry of aid into Gaza, and an increase in the humanitarian crisis. In the sector.
The website stated that Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar informed the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel, that Israel wants to reopen the Rafah crossing, but that the return of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas “to control the region is unacceptable,” an informed source told Axios.
An Israeli official said that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that Israel is open to many solutions for the Rafah crossing except for the return of Hamas.
Axios quoted Israeli officials as saying that what was planned, behind closed doors, was an attempt to bring in Palestinian elements not linked to Hamas to manage the crossing within a few days of taking control of it.
This comes as the occupation forces continue their ground attack in the areas east of Rafah and control the crossing there, causing the displacement of more than 100,000 Palestinians to the southwest of the Gaza Strip, which is exposed to an ongoing war that has left tens of thousands martyred and wounded amid a humanitarian situation described as catastrophic and a worsening famine.