Israel has officially agreed to have European observers as a third party on the Gaza – Egypt border crossing in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli official source said on Monday.
Israeli relative ministers agreed that the European observers will monitor the crossing of passengers from and to the Gaza Strip and report to Israel, the source said.
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The observers in addition to surveillance cameras will be functioning on the Palestinian side of the border, meanwhile, Palestinian and Egyptian security forces will be on the Egyptian side of the border.
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The cameras that will be setup in the Palestinian terminal will maintain live feed for Israeli security.
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The Palestinian Authority has suggested a third party some time ago in response to an earlier Israeli demand to have Israeli presence on the border crossing, which was strongly rejected by the Palestinians.
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The border issue has been one of the long-standing problems related to the freedom of movement of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, since Egypt is the only link for the Gaza residents with the outside world.
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An Israeli ministerial-security committee will discuss this issue on Tuesday, for final approval.
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On the other hand, Israel has asked the World Bank to halt the study it has been doing comparing two options for connecting the West Bank with the Gaza Strip.
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The World Bank suggested building a road while Israel insists on a railway to connect the parts of the Palestinian territory.
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Israel is also planning to build a checkpoint near the settlement of Tappoah, near Nablus, which will split the north from the middle of the West Bank.  The middle section is already split from the south at Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem.
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Such disconnection will diminish chances for territorial contiguity in the Palestinian territories which jeopardize the establishment of a viable Palestinian state as proposed in the Road Map peace plan.
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