Context

• The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has opened for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in early October.

About Rafah border crossing

• The crossing is the main entrance and exit point to the tiny Palestinian enclave from Egypt.
• It is controlled by Egypt and has been the focus of heated international negotiations as the only entry point for relief supplies Israel imposed a “total siege” on Gaza following the attacks carried out by Hamas.
• It’s the southernmost post of exit from Gaza and borders Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.
• There are only two other border crossings from and into the Gaza Strip. One is, “Erez, a crossing into Israel in northern Gaza, which is for people,” and the other is “Kerem Shalom, a solely commercial goods junction with Israel in southern Gaza,” according to a report by the BBC. Both of these crossings are shut.

Why is the Rafah border crossing important in the conflict?

• In response to the cross-border infiltration by Hamas fighters that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, Israel imposed a total blockade of Gaza.
• The Jewish state shut down Erez and Kerem Shalom until further notice, leaving the Rafah border as the only way into and out of the Strip for people seeking to flee.
• It is also the only crossing point for humanitarian aid.

Why are Arab states so reluctant to take in Palestinians?

• Arab countries have deep-rooted fears that Israel’s latest war with Hamas in Gaza could spark a new wave of permanent displacements.
• Egypt, the only Arab state to share a border with Gaza, and Jordan, which flanks the Israeli-occupied West Bank, have both warned against Palestinians being forced off their land.
• For Palestinians, the idea of leaving or being driven out of territory where they want to forge a state carries echoes of the “Nakba”, or “catastrophe”, when many fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel’s creation.

Source: IE

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