The Biden administration is in talks with a European Union organization to potentially help open and take control of the Rafah border crossing in Gaza amid Israel’s invasion of the city, according to a senior administration official and another person familiar with the matter, Report informs referring to Politico.
US officials have for weeks worked behind the scenes, brokering talks between Israel and Egypt, to strike a deal that would put the European organization in charge of the Rafah crossing and significantly improve the flow of aid into the enclave, the people said. The Rafah crossing has been closed since Israel’s invasion of the city May 7.
In the talks, Egyptian officials have said they want the Gazans who used to run the crossing to return. Israel has argued that those who previously manned the crossing included members of Hamas — and that a new group should take over. The stalemate has significantly slowed the amount of aid getting through to Gazans amid Israel’s invasion of Rafah, threatening the return of famine-like conditions.
The US is proposing bringing in a neutral third party to take control of the crossing: the European Union Border Assistance Mission to the Rafah Crossing Point. The organization previously worked at the border in Gaza but suspended its operations in 2007 after Hamas took over Gaza.