Israel keeps Rafah border crossing closed amid disagreement with US over inclusion of Turkey & Qatar in Gaza board

The Israeli cabinet voted not to open the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday, amid clear frustration with the U.S. government over the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in the Gaza Executive Board. 

The U.S. had reportedly asked Israel to reopen the Rafah Crossing as part of the move to the second phase of the Gaza peace plan, which Israel has been resisting due to Hamas’ failure to return the remains of hostage Ran Gvili. 

A senior Israeli official told Ynet News that the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar on the Gaza Executive Board was not part of the original understanding between Israel and the U.S., alleging that it was a form of “retaliation” by special envoy Steve Witkoff and advisor to President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner. 

The official told Ynet that the “inclusion of Turkey and Qatar was on Netanyahu’s head. This is Kushner's and Witkoff's revenge on him, because of his insistence not to open the crossing before the return of hostage Ran Gvili.”

Last week, after Witkoff announced the move to phase two of the Gaza peace plan, President Trump announced the establishment of the Gaza Executive Board, including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari official Ali al-Thawadi. 

The involvement of the two, who have expressed strong anti-Israel positions, drew an immediate response from Israeli leaders, many of whom were critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

After instructing the Foreign Ministry to express Israel’s concern and opposition to the move to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Channel 12 News reported that Netanyahu himself called Rubio to address the issue. 

During remarks in the Knesset plenum on Monday, Netanyahu said that “Turkish soldiers and Qatari soldiers will not be in the Strip.” 

This statement appeared to be a way to recover from his previous promises that he would not allow either country to gain a foothold in Gaza. 

The prime minister also repeated his promise that Hamas would be disarmed, saying, “We are on the verge of Phase II, which means one simple thing: Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized, either the easy way or the hard way.” 

Netanyahu also acknowledged the disagreement with the U.S. over the Gaza Executive Board, noting, “We have a certain argument with our friends in the US on the makeup of the council of advisers that will accompany the processes in Gaza.” 

Netanyahu’s statements came during a so-called 40-signatures debate in the Knesset, in which opposition parties can compel the prime minister to speak in the Knesset, while questioning him on various topics. 

Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded to Netanyahu’s statements by claiming that the U.S. went over Netanyahu’s head to appoint Turkey and Qatar, saying, “President Trump has announced, over your head, the composition of the ‘executive committee’ of Gaza. Hamas’s hosts in Istanbul and Doha, Hamas’s ideological partners, have been invited to run Gaza.” 

He also noted that the committee of technocrats chosen to manage daily affairs in Gaza was largely composed of Palestinian Authority figures, despite the coalition’s insistence that the P.A. would not be involved in managing Gaza. 

“President Trump has also announced the composition of the committee of technocrats that is supposed to run daily life in Gaza. I know you’re trying to gloss over this, but the dominant factor in the committee is the Palestinian Authority,” Lapid accused. 

According to a report in Hebrew news site Maariv, Israeli security officials are concerned that the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in the oversight of Gaza is dangerous and could lead to the rehabilitation of Hamas. 

Reports in Hebrew media said that the IDF is currently drawing up plans for a renewal of military operations in Gaza, believing that the current peace process could collapse over the failure to disarm Hamas.