Palestinian leadership calls for opening Gaza crossings, handing them over to Palestinian Authority

By Awad Rjoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Palestinian leadership called for opening and handing over of Gaza crossings to the Palestinian National Authority, the state-run news agency Wafa reported Saturday.

The leadership emphasized in a statement “the urgent need for a complete and permanent cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and all of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine.”

The Palestinian leadership includes members of the executive committees of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, the heads of the factions of the PLO (excluding Hamas and Islamic Jihad), government ministers, and heads of security agencies.

It further stressed “the necessity for the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, calling for opening and handover of all border crossings of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority as per signed agreements, including the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access.”

“This would ensure the consistent delivery of humanitarian aid and essential supplies to the residents of Gaza,” said the statement.

“Peace, security, and stability can only be achieved through a political solution based on international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative. This includes ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the leadership reiterated.

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that Israel presented the Palestinian resistance group Hamas with a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

Biden appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resist pressure from members of his governing coalition opposed to the plan.

Netanyahu's office on Friday reiterated his intention to continue the country's offensive in the Gaza Strip until all of Tel Aviv's war goals are achieved.

Hamas said it would "respond positively to any proposal that includes a permanent cease-fire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the return of the displaced, and the completion of a comprehensive hostage exchange deal."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people.

Nearly 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with more than 82,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.​​​​​​​

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.

* Writing by Rania Abu Shamala