https://arab.news/ndzqz
Since Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories announced that the Rafah crossing would be opened “in the coming days exclusively for the exit of Gaza residents into Egypt,” a political and legal confrontation has erupted between Cairo and Tel Aviv. The dispute goes far beyond a technical disagreement over how to operate a border crossing; it has become a battle over the meaning of the international ceasefire agreement — and over the essence of the Palestinian question itself. Is the goal to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s population, or to depopulate Gaza?
Two sharply conflicting narratives frame the debate over Rafah.
The Israeli narrative is blunt and unapologetic: a unilateral, one-way opening that enables Gazans to leave for Egypt under the pretext of offering them “a chance to depart.” Israeli officials even declared: “If the Egyptians do not want to receive them, that is their problem.”
Through this logic, Israel tries to shift the moral and political burden onto Cairo: Either you open your territory for Palestinians to leave, or you are accused of blocking their “escape.”
