Palestinian Authority Ready To Operate Rafah Crossing For Gaza Aid Supply

DOC UN News

JAKARTA - The Palestinian Authority is ready to operate an important crossing for aid between Egypt and Gaza, while voicing concerns about who will finance the reconstruction of the destroyed enclave after two years of war.

"Now we are ready to get back involved, and we have informed all parties that we are ready to operate the Rafah crossing," said Mohammad Shtayyeh, special envoy to the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian authorities expect an important role in postwar Gaza, Palestinian officials say, although President Donald Trump's plans to end the war rule it out for now.

Arab states urged the Palestinian Authority to play a role, but there was no agreement for that in the ceasefire plan agreed by Israel and Hamas, before the Palestinian Authority introduced reforms.

In May 2024, the Israeli military took over the Palestinian side of Gaza's southern Rafah crossing bordering Egypt and which has been the center of aid delivery and evacuation of injured victims in the Gaza war.

Israel resumed preparations to open the crossing on Wednesday following a dispute over the return of the hostages who had threatened to thwart a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

COGAT, Israel's military agency overseeing the flow of aid to Gaza, said the opening date of the crossing was only for movement of people to be announced later.

Assistance trucks enter Gaza through other crossings.

Shtayyeh said the agreement with the European Union Border Assistance Mission to help the Palestinian Authority manage the Rafah crossing was effectively suspended in March as hostilities reoccur, still in effect.

"The agreement is already there, and I think it is now in the final stages to unite all parts so that they can function," he told reporters in Geneva during a visit to Switzerland.