FALCON POWERS – According to the POLITICO article, the Biden administration has been holding talks with a European Union-affiliated organization to help open and control the Rafah border crossing in Gaza. The United States is proposing to bring in a neutral third party, the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM), to oversee the crossing.
The EUBAM previously operated on the Gaza border but suspended its operations in 2007 after Hamas took control of Gaza. US officials have been working for weeks, mediating discussions between Israel and Egypt, to reach an agreement that would make the European organization responsible for the Rafah crossing and significantly improve the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip. The Rafah crossing has been closed since Israel’s incursion into the city on May 7.
The European Union Border Assistance Mission has not responded to a request for comment on its discussions with the Biden administration.
The discussions come amid increasing tensions between Egypt and Israel over the Rafah attack. Before Israel’s incursion into Rafah, Cairo had warned Tel Aviv about the operation, stressing that the fierce fighting on its border threatens its national security.
In recent days, Biden administration officials have been trying to help facilitate more aid deliveries into Gaza, but the Kerem Shalom crossing is congested with trucks from private contractors and UN-affiliated relief groups, and the shipments are moving slowly. The decline in aid delivery has resulted in shortages of basic goods like flour, leading Gazans to climb onto the trucks and take packages before they are distributed at aid sites.
The Biden administration has explored several options to help reopen the Rafah crossing, including potentially calling on private contractors to assist. However, many groups have expressed concern about control of the crossing during the Israeli operations in Rafah.
The Rafah crossing is a major entry point for humanitarian aid into Gaza and an exit point for people being medically evacuated from the territory, where the humanitarian crisis is worsening and the specter of famine looms. Israel has controlled the operations of the crossing and has said it will not allow Hamas to play any role there in the future.
