Israeli authorities are considering transferring control of Gaza’s Rafah crossing to the European Union and Palestinians, informed sources said on Thursday.
Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has scorned the idea of Israel ceding the crossing, Israeli officials were in talks with the EU and the US about the proposal, the sources told Bloomberg.
If enacted, the proposal could foreshadow an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas and enable more aid to get into the devastated Palestinian territory, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive talks.
The negotiations underscore the EU’s renewed diplomatic efforts to relieve some pressure on Palestinian civilians and help stop the war.
The bloc has for months called for a truce but had little influence over the Israeli government as it tries to destroy Hamas.
The EU helped run the crossing before 2007, when Hamas took control over the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said that whatever Israel does, Hamas won’t be allowed to retake control of any border areas. His government also insists on Israel’s forces remaining in the vicinity of the crossing and along the Gaza-Egypt border.
After a visit to Rafah on Thursday, Netanyahu said it was “vital” to hold the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing.
Last May, the Israeli army launched a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, capturing the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side and deploying its forces throughout the so-called Philadelphi Corridor that runs for 14 kilometers along the border with Egypt.
Earlier on Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty renewed his call for Israel’s army withdrawal from the Rafah crossing and for the Palestinian Authority to run the terminal.
