by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Senior representatives from the US, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority met in Tel Aviv last week for secret talks on reopening the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza as part of a hostage and ceasefire deal, the Axios news outlet reports exclusively.
Several Israeli and American officials told Axios on condition of anonymity that, in the first meeting between Israel, the US, and the PA since the Oct. 7 massacre, the delegates discussed issues surrounding the day after the war in Gaza ends.
“Reopening the strategic Rafah crossing would be crucial for implementing the first phase of a hostage and ceasefire deal, which includes the transfer of wounded Hamas members to Egypt for medical treatment,” Axios explained in its report. “This would only be possible through Rafah.”
“US officials say reopening the Rafah crossing could be a first step in a wider post-war strategy for the stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza,” Axios noted.
According to the Axios sources, Israel objects to any official involvement of the PA in managing the Rafah crossing. However, Axios said: “At the same time, the Israelis pressed Abbas’ senior aides to agree to send their people to the crossing in an unofficial capacity, the sources said. The Palestinian side rejected that proposal.”
The officials present at the meeting included President Biden’s top Middle East Adviser, Brett McGurk; the director of the Israeli Shin Bet security agency, Ronen Bar; and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ top deputies — Minister Hussein al-Sheikh and director of intelligence Majed Faraj, Axios said.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A massive barrage of Israeli airstrikes hit Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon just after the terrorist group’s leader declared that two days of intense hybrid bombings, including the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies targeting Hezbollah forces, amounted to a declaration of war.
Facing relentless violence against their communities by Islamic jihadist terror groups, 16.2 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa have now been forced to flee their homes and live in poverty-stricken Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
A Pakistani court has sentenced Shagufta Kiran, a Christian mother of four, to death for “committing blasphemy against Islam,” a senior Christian advocacy activist told Worthy News Thursday.
Amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reiterated that the kingdom would not recognize Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Times of Israel reports. The Crown Prince made his remarks during an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council on Wednesday (September 18).
Taiwanese company Gold Apollo says that the pager model allegedly used by Hezbollah members that simultaneously exploded and killed numerous people, mainly in Lebanon, was made by its Hungarian partner.
Israel has condemned an adopted United Nations resolution demanding that all Israeli forces and civilians pull out of Palestinian areas within a year. The resolution also called for an embargo on arms that Israel might use in those areas.
Israel’s atomic chief has warned that Syria built an undeclared nuclear facility after Iran, which he said has “in alarming amounts conducting covert nuclear activities.”