TEL AVIV: Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border’s expected opening next week.

The head of a transitional Pales­tinian committee backed by the US to temporarily administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, announced on Thursday that the Rafah Border Crossing — effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than two million people who live there — would open next week.

The border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, under a ceasefire reached in October between Israel and Hamas.

Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration. The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.

The three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said it was still not clear how Israel planned to enforce limits on the number of Palestinians entering Gaza from Egypt, or what ratio of exits to entries it aimed to achieve.

Israeli officials have spoken in the past about encouraging Palestinians to emigrate from Gaza, although they deny intending to transfer the population out by force. Palestinians are highly sensitive to any suggestion that Gazans could be expelled, or that those who leave temporarily could be barred from returning.

The Rafah Crossing is expected to be staffed by Palestinians affiliated with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and monitored by EU personnel, as took place during an earlier, weeks-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas early last year.

The three sources said that Israel also wants to establish a military checkpoint inside Gaza near the border, through which all Palestinians entering or leaving would be required to pass and be subjected to Israeli security checks.

Two other sources also said that Israeli officials had insisted on setting up a military checkpoint in Gaza to screen Palestinians moving in and out.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2026