Egypt pushes for Palestinian Authority take over of Rafah crossing 

Egypt wants the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority to manage the Rafah border crossing, the only outlet for Palestinians in Gaza to the world, after the end of Israel's war against the besieged coastal enclave, Israeli media outlets claimed. 

On Saturday, the Israeli Kan radio reported that "Palestinians and Egyptian officials have been involved in meetings to consult about the post-war Rafah border crossing administration."

Recently, Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior official of the Palestinian Authority who enjoys strong relations with the Israeli authorities, held meetings with Egyptian officials in Ramallah to discuss the Egyptian plan, according to Kan. 

Al-Sheikh also held a secret meeting with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv in July about opening the Rafah border crossing, according to the US-media outlet Axios. 

The meeting was attended by al-Sheikh, US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and Palestinian intelligence chief Majed Faraj, three Israeli and US officials cited to Axios. 

The New Arab tried to get comments from Palestinian officials in Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, but all preferred to give no comment due to the "current sensitive time." 

In May, Israeli forces seized the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border, violating the Camp David accords with Egypt. The crossing remains closed to this day, with Egypt refusing to reopen it until it is back under Palestinian control, to avoid being seen as complicit in the Israeli military operation in Gaza. 

The Rafah border crossing is a major conduit for aid into Gaza, and its closure has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis caused by the war.

Israel still refuses any Palestinian role in Gaza

Egypt intends for the PA to assume control of the crossing openly, without camouflaging or concealing its role, according to Kan. 

The Egyptian-Palestinian meetings are part of an apparent plan to let the Palestinian Authority gradually take over strategic locations in Gaza as a realistic replacement for the Hamas government, Palestinian political experts spoke to TNA. 

Despite the plan receiving strong support from the US and Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still rejects any role of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. 

"It is normal for Egypt, as a main mediator between Israel and Hamas, to find solutions for the administration of Gaza after the war, mainly because it does not want any presence of Israel in the coastal enclave," Hussam al-Dajani, a Gaza-based Palestinian political analyst, said to TNA. 

"None of the Palestinian parties [no matter how much Arab and international support it has] can manage the Rafah crossing without an internal Palestinian consensus," he added.

After the war, Al-Dajani believes that the Palestinian factions will attempt to implement the Beijing Agreement to end the internal Palestinian division, achieve reconciliation, and establish a unified Palestinian government capable of managing both the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

For his part, Iyad al-Qarra, another Gaza-based political expert, told TNA, "Hamas will be part of this government, but it may give up managing some files to allow the Palestinian government to facilitate the lives of Palestinians, help in the process of rebuilding Gaza, and lifting the siege on it."

"Managing the Rafah border crossing is a Palestinian issue and none of the Arab or even the US can force their vision on it. So, only the Palestinian factions can meet with each other to decide how they would operate it," he noted.

The new Egyptian efforts of finding a Palestinian body that would manage the Rafah border, even if it will not be easy and realistic on the ground, came in light of the Qatari, Egyptian and US pressures to resume the indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal on 15 August. 

Since 7 October 2023, the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2.3 million people, has been surviving a genocidal war by Israel that killed more than 39,870 Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures issued by the Health Ministry in Gaza.