Report: Previous Negotiations Over Rafah Crossing Failed
Axios reported on Friday that negotiations regarding the Rafah Crossing into Gaza — and who will control it — failed last week. Israel has said that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority (PA), which partially controls the West Bank, can run the crossing....
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Facts
- Axios reported on Friday that negotiations regarding the Rafah Crossing into Gaza — and who will control it — failed last week. Israel has said that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority (PA), which partially controls the West Bank, can run the crossing.1
- Israel said Palestinians affiliated with the PA's ruling Fatah party would be eligible, but that they couldn't work as representatives of the PA. Israel also reportedly proposed that vetted Palestinians could form 'a local civilian committee,' but the idea was rejected by Egypt and the PA.1
- The US warned on Friday that Israel would see a 'massive' negative impact if the PA were to collapse. The PA was experiencing financial difficulties before the war began, and Israel blocked tax revenue for months following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.2
- Israel recently agreed to transfer the PA's tax revenue — which amounts to hundreds of millions of shekels — via Norway, saying it wanted to ensure none of the funds are diverted to Gaza. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that he would stop the flow of funds if the PA continues calling for international recognition as a state.3
- Internationally, the US is working toward passing a UN Security Council resolution that would support the cease-fire proposal laid out by US Pres. Joe Biden last week. Israel reportedly asked the US to change parts of the text.4
- In Gaza, residents reported that Israeli forces pushed further west in Rafah. Israeli forces also reportedly launched raids into other parts of the city. The progress of cease-fire negotiations is also still unclear, as Hamas is considering the most recent proposal.5
Sources: 1Axios, 2The New Arab, 3Timesofisrael, 4Jerusalem Post and 5Voice of America.
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Washington Institute. Though the Palestinian Authority is by no means perfect, since the end of the Second Intifada in the mid-2000s, the PA has been able to maintain a relative calm in the West Bank that has ultimately worked in Israel's favor. That stability has been threatened, however, by extremists in the Israeli government who want to annex the entire West Bank. Israel's security would be directly threatened by a power vacuum, and it must make sure the PA's collapse is avoided.
- Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by JNS. Though the US may believe that it can force the PA to 'reform,' the reality is the PA is simply not a partner for peace. Like Hamas, the PA supports the destruction of Israel and lacks democratic legitimacy. The PA would be incapable of demilitarizing Gaza or deradicalizing its population — meaning that the chance that an attack like Oct. 7 could happen again remains. Indeed, Israel may as well let Hamas stay in power if it's truly considering allowing the PA to take over Gaza the day after the war.
- Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Intercept. The great irony of the debate regarding the PA is that Palestinians, especially in the occupied West Bank, by and large, see the political body as an extension of Israel's occupation. Mahmoud Abbas and his lame-duck administration in Ramallah are deeply unpopular, and Palestinians simply do not want to be governed by the PA. The US must realize that it cannot force Palestinians to support the PA, and it will have to be more creative if it wants to set the conditions advantageous to ending this conflict.
