Madrid, December 6 (European Press) –
The foreign ministers of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt on Friday expressed their concern over the Israeli authorities’ announcement to reopen the Rafah border crossing “in the coming days” to “exclusively” allow the exit of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and demanded respect for the plan proposed by United States President Donald Trump “including its provisions related to the maintenance of the crossing.”
The ministers indicated in a joint statement that the text endorsed by the White House stipulates opening the crossing “in both directions, ensuring freedom of movement for the population, refraining from forcing any of the residents of the Gaza Strip to leave, and instead creating appropriate conditions so that they can remain in their land and participate in building their homeland, within a comprehensive vision aimed at restoring stability and improving their humanitarian conditions.”
In this regard, they expressed their readiness to continue working in coordination with the United States and regional and international powers to ensure compliance with the “Trump Plan,” and expressed their desire to move forward with its “full implementation” “without delay or obstruction, in a way that achieves security and peace, and consolidates the foundations of regional stability.”
In the same vein, these countries once again stressed the need to fully maintain the ceasefire, allow unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, take the first steps towards “recovery and reconstruction” of the Palestinian Strip, and encourage the Palestinian Authority to “resume its responsibilities, thus laying the foundations for a new phase of security and stability in the region.”
The “categorical rejection” of the Palestinian government
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed this joint statement, while denouncing that the purpose of this measure is nothing other than “displacing the Palestinian people from their lands” as “a continuation of the occupation policies aimed at undermining the prospects for peace and the Palestinian presence” in the region.
Hence, the Palestinian government affirmed that it would respond with “categorical rejection” of any “plan or action (by Israel) aimed at imposing displacement or forced transfer” of the Palestinian population, and guaranteed “a unified Arab, Islamic and international position that rejects any violation of their inalienable rights.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed in a statement, in which it took the opportunity to stress “the importance of establishing a complete and sustainable ceasefire” as an inevitable first step towards regional peace and stability, that “the State of Palestine expresses its deep gratitude for the sincere Arab and Islamic positions rejecting attempts to displace the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip. This support constitutes political and legal protection against Israeli policies aimed at creating an illegal reality of forced displacement.”
“In conclusion, the Ministry affirms that the protection of the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights, foremost of which is their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state within the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, remains a firm and non-negotiable national priority. The unity of the Arab and Islamic positions is also considered a basic pillar for confronting any attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause or undermine its established principles.” Palestinian.
The two articles were published after the Israeli executive authority announced, on Wednesday, that it would reopen the Rafa border crossing “during the next few days,” “exclusively” in the exit direction, despite Cairo’s denial of the existence of an agreement in this regard.
According to the Hebrew authorities, this reopening will be carried out following a “similar mechanism to that used last January,” when the European Union also supervised the mission in an attempt to provide stability and support the ceasefire agreed upon between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). But no details have been revealed about the exact date or the possibility of those who leave the Gaza Strip returning by the same route if they want to.
The Egyptian Information Service explained shortly after that, “If there is an agreement to open the crossing, movement will take place in both directions, entering and exiting the Gaza Strip.” In this sense, he also stressed that this point regarding displacement in both directions “is considered in the plan presented by Trump.”
Israel and Hamas agreed in October to implement the first phase of the proposal regarding the future of the Strip, about which not many details emerged.