Borrell at Rafah: EU ready to deploy ‘staff’ on Palestinian side of crossing

CAIRO – 9 September 2024:  At the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip, Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell declared that the EU is ready to deploy “European staff” on the Palestinian side to open the border.

“Today, the most urgent thing is to make these ambulances enter or receive the wounded people. That is why the European Union is ready to present their capacities, to offer their logistic capacities to re-open this border. To have the European staff deployed in the other side of this border, in order for the border to be open, and the wounded people to be able to go through the border to a hospital. And the humanitarian support to come inside, and the people going in and out. In particular, the people in need,” he said in a press conference at Rafah on Monday.

He called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying “Unhappily, the negotiations are not going as quickly – how can I use the word “quickly” when they have been stalled for weeks and months?”

He noted that to deploy “the mission,” the EU has to get approval from the Egyptian side, the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli side as the EU has to ensure the security of its “mission.” He also said that the discussion with the Egyptian side was away from the idea of deploying peacekeeping forces at the borders.

1.4K trucks waiting to enter Gaza

A total of 1,400 trucks waiting to enter in the besieged Gaza Strip, he said, adding “And I know that they are ambulances – these yellow and blue cars – waiting to receive the wounded people. But one thing is to see that from the satellite images, and another thing is to see it live, one truck after the other,” he said

“On a good day, maybe 50 will come in. In Ramallah time, they were 600 per day. This is a drop in the ocean of needs on the other side,” he added.

It has been reported in May 2024 that the European Union is studying to deploy a European “mission” at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza and this step would never happen if the war continued, Sky News Arabia said.

Borrell visited Egypt on Monday and held a meeting with President Abdel Fatah El Sisi, who presented the efforts deployed by Egypt – in cooperation with partners – to attain a ceasefire and captive exchange agreement. The chief of state underlined that such agreement was essential to end the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, and begin the path to the two-state solution that would ensure peace, co-existence, stability and development in the region.

The president equally warned of the risks of continuous escalation, which would incur the expansion of the scope of conflict, reiterating that the international community – including the EU - must fulfill its duties on the front of ending the war, and violence in the West Bank.

On his side, Borrell valued the role played by Egypt to back stability in the Middle East, affirming the EU's keenness on continuous consultation with the country. In turn, President Sisi hailed the EU high representative for his objective and fair stances in the past period.