Khaberni - The news circulating about the imminent reopening of the Rafah crossing has triggered a wide wave of political and media responses within Israel, amid conflicting statements between Palestinian and international parties, and an official Israeli reservation about the step.
Ali Shaath, the head of the National Committee for the Management of Gaza, announced that the Rafah crossing will open next week, considering the step an indicator that Gaza is no longer closed to the world and the future.
Shaath stated that the opening of the crossing is part of a transitional process aimed at improving the daily lives of the residents, rebuilding institutions, and restoring order, emphasizing that the Rafah crossing represents a lifeline for Palestinians and a symbol of opportunity and dignity, despite the difficulties of the upcoming phase and the challenges it brings.
"Surrender"
Meanwhile, the leader of the "Yisrael Beiteinu" party, Avigdor Lieberman, attacked the announcement of the opening of the crossing, considering what is happening as a "surrender" to the Palestinians, and commented:
"The opening of the Rafah crossing and the government of terrorists in official suits have already started operating in Gaza, and in Israel, they pretend to be surprised and shocked. There are no surprises here, we said and warned, the October 7 government continues to surrender to the Palestinians, a bad weak government.. leave."
In the same context, Merav commented that the announcement by the head of the Gaza executive council, Nikolai Mladenov, about reaching an agreement to open the Rafah crossing contradicts the official Israeli stance, and she said:
"It's noteworthy that Mladenov announced the Rafah agreement while Israel says the cabinet still needs to discuss it. It's also worth noting that Rafah, a gateway for two million Gazans to the world, is equated with the return of a single deceased hostage, and was supposed to be opened in the first stage."
"Beware"
Journalist Tal Schneider cast doubts on the nature of the announced agreements, saying:
"Beware, Mladenov says we have reached agreements regarding the opening of Rafah and he adds in his blog post, thanking Israel. Agreements with whom? You will understand by yourselves, Smotrich and Ben Gvir, can you read English? This means that your cabinet meeting on Sunday is, as usual, just a formal procedure of no consequence."
Commenting further, Omer Dan stated that the October 7 War led to the internationalization of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a shift that contradicts Israeli policy since 1967. He said:
"Perhaps we achieved a complete victory or perhaps in the future we will return to war and occupy the Gaza Strip, who knows what else might happen, but till now, the October 7 War has led to the internationalization of the conflict, completely opposite to Israel's policy since 1967. I heartily congratulate the right-wing government on this remarkable achievement."
Conversely, the Israeli Channel 12 reported from a political source that the issue of reopening the Rafah crossing is still under discussion inside "the cabinet," concurrent with efforts to recover the body of the Israeli Ran Guell. The channel also reported Ran Guell's mother saying that she had not been informed about the intention to open the crossing, expressing her disapproval of this move.
