Israel frames Rafah opening as a Trump administration ‘concession’
The Israeli government is marketing the opening of Rafah as a concession to the Trump administration, even though the Gaza ceasefire agreement stated the crossing must be opened and it wasn’t tied to the return of all the captives.
Israel has put its foot down and said that is not going to happen.
And now, even with the possible location of the last body identified, it is saying that it will open but with heavy restrictions and, without pre-screening by Israeli authorities, nobody is going to be able to leave or enter Gaza.
As for the entry of aid through Rafah, American officials have visited and allegedly applied pressure on Israel, but that hasn’t yielded any results. But the Trump administration needs a win, and Rafah would be just that.
Israel’s Ben-Gvir decries ‘naive’ Trump envoys over Rafah opening
Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has criticised US President Donald Trump’s truce brokers for demanding the opening of the Rafah crossing for Palestinians aiming to leave and enter the war-battered Gaza Strip.
Rafah’s opening is part of the ceasefire deal US adviser Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff helped broker between Hamas and Israel.
“We still haven’t completely eliminated Hamas. We have to dismantle and disarm it. Enough with Kushner and Witkoff’s naivety – if Rafah crossing opens, it will be a big mistake and a very bad message,” Ben-Gvir was quoted as saying by the Israeli news website Walla.
Ben-Gvir is a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, and his hardline party forms a broader right-wing coalition, keeping the current government together. He’s known for taking extreme positions while promoting “Greater Israel”, and has been sanctioned by several Western countries.
Israel says it will have ‘full oversight mechanism’ over Rafah crossing
Israel says it will allow a “limited reopening” of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt once it recovers the remains of the last captive in the Palestinian territory.
Reopening Rafah, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza, forms part of a truce framework announced by Trump last October, but the crossing has remained closed, with Israel blocking vital aid and equipment.
“As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to open the Rafah crossing on a limited basis for the passage of people only, with a full Israeli oversight mechanism,” Netanyahu’s office said in a post on X.
“The opening of the crossing is conditioned on the return of all living hostages and the execution of 100% effort on the part of Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages.”
Hamas said it provided “all information” it has on the possible location of the last captive’s body in Gaza.
EU mission, Gaza officials to conduct Rafah border exit inspections: Report
Exits through the Rafah crossing won’t be subject to direct Israeli security inspection, but rather monitoring by a European Union mission and Palestinian officials, a media report says.
The inspectors will “operate on behalf of the Palestinian Authority” while “Israeli supervision of the exit process will be limited to remote monitoring only”, said Israeli Army Radio.
However, “those entering the Gaza Strip will then be transferred through a special corridor established in an area under Israeli control, where they will undergo inspection by Israeli security agencies to prevent the smuggling of prohibited means or the entry of unauthorised persons”, it reported.
The number of people permitted to cross has not yet been determined, “but estimates indicate a few hundred daily, according to the crossing’s capacity and inspection procedures”, the report said.
It's a crossing between Egypt and Gaza, legally Israel has nothing to do with it...
