Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Gaza mediators Egypt and Qatar and six other Muslim-majority countries said on Friday they were concerned about Israel stating it would open a one-way crossing for Palestinians to exit the Strip.
The ministers voiced “their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land” and said they were against “compelling any resident of the Gaza Strip to leave”.
They urged for the crossing to be opened in both directions in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
On Wednesday, Israel said it would open the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt exclusively to allow residents to exit the Palestinian territory “in the coming days”.
But Egypt swiftly denied that it had agreed to such a deal, insisting that the key crossing be opened in both directions.
Reopening the Rafah crossing is a part of Trump’s peace plan for the Palestinian territory, as well as something UN agencies and other humanitarian actors have long called for.
But since the October ceasefire took effect, Israeli authorities have stalled on the matter, citing Hamas’s failure to return the bodies of all hostages and the need for coordination with Egypt.
