The foreign ministers of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt expressed their concern on Friday regarding the Israeli authorities’ announcement to reopen the Rafah border crossing “in the coming days” to allow “exclusively” Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip for Egypt. They demanded that the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump be respected, “including its provisions on maintaining the crossing.”
In a joint statement, the ministers recalled that the text endorsed by the White House envisions the opening of the crossing “in both directions, guaranteeing freedom of movement for the population, and refraining from forcing any resident of the Gaza Strip to leave, instead creating the appropriate conditions for them to 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 have stated their willingness to continue working in coordination with the US and regional and international powers to ensure the implementation of the “Trump Plan” and have expressed their desire to move forward with its “full implementation” “without delays or obstructions, in order to achieve security and peace, and consolidate the foundations of regional stability.”
Along the same lines, these countries have reiterated the need to fully preserve the ceasefire, allow the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and take the first steps toward the “recovery and reconstruction” of the Palestinian enclave, enabling the Palestinian Authority to “reassume its responsibilities, thus laying the groundwork for a new phase of security and stability in the region.”
“UNEQUIVOCAL REJECTION” BY THE PALESTINIAN GOVERNMENT
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry welcomed this joint statement while denouncing it as an attempt to “displace the Palestinian people from their territory” and as “a continuation of occupation policies aimed at undermining the prospects for peace and the Palestinian presence” in the region.
Therefore, the Palestinian government asserted that it will respond with an “unequivocal rejection” to any “plan or measure (by Israel) aimed at imposing the displacement or forced relocation” of the Palestinian population and guaranteed “a unified Arab, Islamic, and international stance that rejects any violation of their inalienable rights.”
“The State of Palestine expresses its deep gratitude for the sincere Arab and Islamic positions that reject 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,” the Foreign Ministry insisted in a statement, also taking the opportunity to reiterate “the importance of establishing a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire” as the first and essential step toward regional peace and stability.
“In conclusion, the Ministry affirms that the protection of the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights, first and foremost 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. It also considers the unity of Arab and Islamic positions a fundamental pillar for confronting any attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause or undermine its established principles,” the Palestinian government’s statement concludes.
The statement was published after the Israeli government announced on Wednesday that it would reopen the Rafah border crossing “in the coming days,” “exclusively” for outbound traffic, although Cairo has denied the existence of any such agreement.
According to Israeli authorities, this reopening would be carried out following “a similar mechanism to the one used last January,” when the EU also oversaw the mission in an attempt to provide stability and support for the ceasefire agreed upon at that time between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). However, no details have been released regarding the exact date or whether those leaving the Gaza Strip could return via the same route if they wished to do so.
The Egyptian State Information Service clarified shortly afterward that “if there were an agreement to open the crossing, traffic would flow in both directions, both into and out of the Gaza Strip.” In this regard, he also emphasized that this point regarding movement in both directions “is included in the plan presented by Trump.”
Israel and Hamas agreed in October to implement the first phase of the proposal for the future of the Gaza Strip, about which few details have been released.
