Netanyahu's office says Palestinian Authority to play 'some role in approving exit visas'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied reports on Wednesday that he allowed the Palestinian Authority to run the Rafah border crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt.
The border crossing is slated to open next week on day seven of a ceasefire agreement that halted Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Netanyahu's office accused the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority of trying to “create the false impression that it controls the crossing."
The Palestinian Authority "currently plays some role in approving exit visas," it said, stressing that the Israeli army will continue to be present around the terminal under the ceasefire agreement.
“Nobody passes through it (Rafah crossing) without supervision and approval from the Israeli army and Shin Bet (domestic security service)," Netanyahu's office said.
The statement said that “non-Hamas Gazans" will provide technical management to the Rafah crossing with international oversight.
These measures, the statement said, are for the first phase of the ceasefire "and will be reexamined later."
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority or Egypt on the report.
The Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, halting Israel's genocidal war that has killed at least 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 110,700 since Oct. 7, 2023.
The three-phase ceasefire agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
