Palestinian Authority says it is ready to operate Rafah crossing

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By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -The Palestinian Authority said on Wednesday it is prepared to operate a key crossing for aid between Egypt and Gaza, while raising concerns about who will pay for the reconstruction of the devastated enclave after two years of war.

“Now we are ready to engage again, and we have notified all parties that we are ready to operate the Rafah crossing,” said Mohammad Shtayyeh, special envoy to President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

The Palestinian Authority expects a significant role in post-war Gaza, Palestinian officials say, even though President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war sidelines it for now.

Arab countries have been pushing for the PA to have some role, but there is no approval for that in the ceasefire plan agreed by Israel and Hamas, before the PA introduces reforms.

The Israeli military in May 2024 took control of the Palestinian side of Gaza’s southern Rafah crossing which borders Egypt and which has been central for the delivery of aid and the exit of injured people in the Gaza war.

Israel resumed preparations to open the crossing on Wednesday after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the ceasefire deal with Hamas.

COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza, said “the date for opening the crossing for the movement of people only will be announced later,” in a statement to Reuters. Aid trucks rolled into Gaza through other crossings.

Shtayyeh said an agreement with the EU Border Assistance Mission to help the PA manage the Rafah crossing effectively, which was paused in March as hostilities recommenced, is still valid.

“The agreement is there, and I think now it’s in the final shape of putting all the bits and pieces together for it to function,” he told reporters in Geneva on a visit to Switzerland where he met Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

GAZA RECONSTRUCTION

Shtayyeh expressed concern about the reconstruction of Gaza, which could cost at least $70 billion, according to UN estimates.

“I am a bit worried about the issue of reconstruction. We need to compete with the reconstruction of Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, with many countries,” he said.

“We can teach in tents, but we need water. We need electricity and we need food in order for us to enable our people to stay there,” he said.

Huge swathes of Gaza have been reduced to a wasteland by Israeli bombardment over two years that killed nearly 68,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

Britain, France, European Union, Japan and Switzerland have said they are ready to support Gaza’s reconstruction.

“They (Switzerland) notified me yesterday that they will be ready to contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza,” Shtayyeh said.

(Reporting by Olivia Le PoidevinEditing by Madeline Chambers and Ros Russell)