Egypt pressures Tel Aviv to reopen Rafah crossing.

Egypt pressures Tel Aviv to reopen Rafah crossing.

According to Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, Israeli sources reported that Tel Aviv announced a week ago that it would open the Rafah crossing only for the exit of Gaza residents.

Citing two unnamed sources, the Israeli state radio reported that Cairo sent a message to Tel Aviv, stressing that the Egyptians do not understand why Israel has fully opened the Al-Karama crossing with Jordan but opposes the two-way opening of the Rafah crossing.

Israeli officials said two days ago that they had agreed to open the Al-Karama crossing for the passage of goods to the West Bank and humanitarian aid to Gaza, and this comes two months after an attack by a Jordanian driver at the crossing that killed two Israelis.

While Jordan appealed to the United States to pressure Israel to open the crossing, Israeli Radio reported that the Egyptians are also taking the same path, so that the Americans can convince Israel to open the Rafah crossing fully.

The Israeli media added that Egyptian officials are aware of the United States’ strong desire to move to the second phase of the ceasefire and that they believe the Trump administration will be forced to find a solution to reopen the Rafah crossing.

Israeli Radio continued that the Egyptians have emphasized on every occasion that opening the Rafah crossing for the exit of Gaza residents is tantamount to agreeing to forced displacement, which is a red line and a threat to Egypt’s national security.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati spoke this week about consultations with the Israeli side to open the Rafah crossing and emphasized his country’s firm position that it will not allow the displacement of Palestinians.