Talks on deploying a European Union mission at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza are at a preliminary stage and the deployment will not happen without an end to the war between Israel and Hamas, a senior EU official said on Friday.
Rafah crossing © Mena Today
Talks on deploying a European Union mission at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza are at a preliminary stage and the deployment will not happen without an end to the war between Israel and Hamas, a senior EU official said on Friday.
EU foreign ministers will hold their monthly meeting in Brussels on Monday, and discuss how to improve humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
Two diplomats said the United States had suggested the EU revive its European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) Rafah, which has not been operational since 2007, when the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas seized full control of Gaza.
The crossing is the main entry point for aid from Egypt, and has been closed since Israeli forces took control of it from the Gazan side nearly three weeks ago.
Rafah city is now fire in an Israeli military assault which judges at the top United Nations court said on Friday should immediately halt.
"Even if we now have people on the ground talking to the different parties and seeing how it could be done, we are in a very preliminary part of the story," said the senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell could be given a mandate by the 27 members on Monday to come up with "some kind of operative conclusions that could allow the mission to deploy".
He said a deployment could not happen "in the current circumstances, not in war circumstances".
"We are talking about the future," the official said.
Three EU diplomats said the discussion would be on the table but there was nothing concrete to discuss. One said the proposal was a "long shot."
The mission would need unanimous approval from EU member states. Also, EUBAM is a civilian mission and personnel and equipment would need to be adapted, given the potentially dangerous nature of the operation.
Such a mission could go ahead only if Egypt and Israel were also in favour, diplomats said.
Two U.S. officials said Washington was reviewing options to secure the reopening of the Rafah crossing but no definitive plans had been developed yet.
Israel began its offensive in Gaza after Hamas' deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
By Andrew Gray and John Irish
The resolution passed on Wednesday by the United Nations General Assembly, calling for an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories within 12 months, represents yet another example of misguided international pressure that not only lacks practicality but also undermines prospects for a meaningful peace process.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hopes to advance efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and strengthen ties with Egypt when he visits Cairo on Wednesday, his spokesman said, amid concern about escalating Middle East tensions.
A majority of Gazans believe Hamas' decision to launch the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was incorrect, according to a poll published on Tuesday pointing to a big drop in backing for the assault that prompted Israel's devastating Gaza offensive.
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