Israel will reopen the Rafah crossing “in the next few days” to allow Palestinians to leave for Egypt

Madrid, December 3 (European Press) –

The Israeli authorities announced on Wednesday that they will reopen the Rafah border crossing “within the next few days” to allow Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip for Egypt “exclusively.”

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli military authority responsible for the Palestinian territories, indicated in a statement that this decision “falls within the framework of the agreement reached in October” to implement the first phase of the American proposal for the future of the Strip.

The Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories explained, “In accordance with the ceasefire and the directives of the political leadership, the Rafah crossing will be reopened for the exit of residents of the Gaza Strip, and this will be facilitated through coordination with Egypt after obtaining the approval of the Israeli authorities and under the supervision of the European Union mission.”

He stressed that this reopening will take place according to “a mechanism similar to the one used last January,” almost a year ago, 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).

However, the Israeli authorities did not provide details about the exact date of the reopening or the possibility that those leaving the Strip would be able to return by the same route if they wanted to.