“We consider it an occupation.” Palestinian factions reject any external party’s control over the Rafah crossing

Today, Wednesday, the Palestinian factions announced their rejection of any external party controlling the Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, after reports circulated about a plan for an American security company to take over the management and monitoring of the crossing.

The follow-up committee for the National and Islamic Forces, representing the factions, said in a statement that it “followed what was reported in the media about a plan for an American security company to take over the management and monitoring of the Rafah land crossing.”

She stressed that the Follow-up Committee will not accept from any party “the imposition of any form of guardianship on the Rafah crossing or any other,” regardless of the veracity of these reports.

She indicated that she would consider this “a form of occupation,” and that she would deal with any plan of this kind “as it deals with the occupation.”

The Palestinian factions called on the Arab League and all Arab and Islamic countries, led by Egypt, to "reject any plans and attempts that affect Palestinian-Egyptian sovereignty over the Rafah crossing."

It also called on all parties to reject any form of cooperation with such plans, stressing that “managing the internal situation is a purely Palestinian matter that is agreed upon nationally through established and agreed-upon mechanisms.”

On Tuesday, the Israeli occupation army invaded the Palestinian side of the crossing, as part of what was claimed to be a “limited-scale” operation that has been continuing in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip since Monday morning.

Israel's control over the Rafah crossing - the main corridor for humanitarian aid - threatens to exacerbate the disastrous conditions, especially since food stocks in Gaza only cover one to four days, according to the United Nations announcement on Tuesday.

With the mediation of Egypt and Qatar and the participation of the United States, Israel and Hamas will resume indirect negotiations in Cairo on Wednesday, in an attempt to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

On Monday, Hamas had previously announced its acceptance of the proposed Egyptian-Qatari agreement, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that it “does not meet his country’s requirements” and declared his commitment to continuing the military operation in Rafah.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza, which has left about 113,000 martyred and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of children and the elderly.