Egyptian, US and Israeli officials will meet in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, almost a month after its closure, an Egyptian TV station said.
Citing a high-level source, state-affiliated al-Qahera News TV reported on Saturday that Egypt is pushing for Israel’s full withdrawal from the Palestinian side of the crossing.
“Egypt has confirmed to all parties its consistent position based on not opening the Rafah crossing as long as Israel maintains control over its Palestinian side,” the source said.
The level of representation at the reported meeting was not immediately clear.
On May 7, Israel took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in an operation that halted aid deliveries through the vital facility to the densely populated coastal strip.
Since the closure of the border crossing, Egypt has indicated that it will not coordinate aid shipments through Rafah until Israeli forces withdraw.
Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. But the ongoing military campaign in Gaza has fueled anti-Israel sentiment in the Arab world’s most populous country, endangering their decades-long ties.
Cairo is also concerned that an expansion of Israel’s offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, full of refugees fleeing the fighting, could trigger a mass exodus to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Israel views Rafah as the last stronghold of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which killed hundreds of civilians in Israel last October.
