Muhammad Dahlan, one of the PA signatories on the agreement, emphasized in a post-signing press conference, "It was agreed that Israel will have no right to prevent any Palestinian citizen to pass through the Rafah Crossing after it is re-opened." Wanted terrorists could thus pass safely between Gaza and Judea.
Israel will be able to monitor those who enter, via a joint control room in Kerem Shalom, to which data and video images will be sent from the Rafah Crossing in real time or near real-time. However, if a suspected terrorist is noted, Israel will not be able to demand that he be kept out or detained.
Though the control room was announced by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Tuesday, PA Borders Control Director Salim Abu Safiye said the next day that Israel will have no access to the control room.
Two crossing points dot the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip: Rafah, for persons, and Kerem Shalom, slightly to the south, for goods.
All of Israel's security branches - the IDF military and intelligence, General Security Service, and the police - registered their criticism of the agreement, saying it compromises Israel's security.
The agreement stipulates that at Kerem Shalom, in the sovereign territory of the State of Israel, PA customs workers will be stationed. They will work under the supervision of Israeli customs workers, based on guidelines to be agreed upon at a later date. A joint liaison office will be established there.
The following other details of the agreement signed this week between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are also now known:
* The Erez and Karni crossings, in northern and central Gaza, respectively, will be upgraded and will enable the PA to export its produce. Karni will be refurbished and will operate day and night, with the goal of increasing the number of trucks that pass through it daily to 150 by the end of this year. By the end of 2006, after new security mechanisms are put in place, the number will grow to 400.
It was announced this morning that the Erez Crossing had been closed, because of intelligence warnings about a possible terrorist attack in the area.
According to the agreement, however, Israel will no longer be able to unilaterally close the crossings in such situations. In case of terror alerts, Israel must first notify the US embassy in Tel Aviv, provide the specific information that motivated the request for a closure, and then wait for Washington to approve or refuse the request.
* Israel will allow protected convoys of buses and trucks to pass between Gaza and Judea. The bus convoys are to begin on December 15, and the trucks are to begin crossing a month later. Exact details will be detailed by a committee of Israeli and PA representatives, with the participation of the Quartet and the U.S. if necessary. The PA still insists that its own forces must escort the trucks through Israeli territory.
* Israel and PA will continue talks on the construction and operation of a PA airport in Dahaniye. The European Union representative said she hoped that the EU would soon release $30 million to aid in the airport's construction.
* Israel promised it would not disrupt the start of construction on a Gaza seaport. The U.S. will form a committee of Israeli and PA representatives that will formulate security guidelines on the basis of the model of the Rafah crossing and other crossings.
PA leaders expressed their great satisfaction with the agreement, emphasizing the economic achievements and the preservation of their sovereignty. Dahlan noted that the PA had achieved the "maximum that was possible."
Israel will be able to monitor those who enter, via a joint control room in Kerem Shalom, to which data and video images will be sent from the Rafah Crossing in real time or near real-time. However, if a suspected terrorist is noted, Israel will not be able to demand that he be kept out or detained.
Though the control room was announced by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Tuesday, PA Borders Control Director Salim Abu Safiye said the next day that Israel will have no access to the control room.
Two crossing points dot the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip: Rafah, for persons, and Kerem Shalom, slightly to the south, for goods.
All of Israel's security branches - the IDF military and intelligence, General Security Service, and the police - registered their criticism of the agreement, saying it compromises Israel's security.
The agreement stipulates that at Kerem Shalom, in the sovereign territory of the State of Israel, PA customs workers will be stationed. They will work under the supervision of Israeli customs workers, based on guidelines to be agreed upon at a later date. A joint liaison office will be established there.
The following other details of the agreement signed this week between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are also now known:
* The Erez and Karni crossings, in northern and central Gaza, respectively, will be upgraded and will enable the PA to export its produce. Karni will be refurbished and will operate day and night, with the goal of increasing the number of trucks that pass through it daily to 150 by the end of this year. By the end of 2006, after new security mechanisms are put in place, the number will grow to 400.
It was announced this morning that the Erez Crossing had been closed, because of intelligence warnings about a possible terrorist attack in the area.
According to the agreement, however, Israel will no longer be able to unilaterally close the crossings in such situations. In case of terror alerts, Israel must first notify the US embassy in Tel Aviv, provide the specific information that motivated the request for a closure, and then wait for Washington to approve or refuse the request.
* Israel will allow protected convoys of buses and trucks to pass between Gaza and Judea. The bus convoys are to begin on December 15, and the trucks are to begin crossing a month later. Exact details will be detailed by a committee of Israeli and PA representatives, with the participation of the Quartet and the U.S. if necessary. The PA still insists that its own forces must escort the trucks through Israeli territory.
* Israel and PA will continue talks on the construction and operation of a PA airport in Dahaniye. The European Union representative said she hoped that the EU would soon release $30 million to aid in the airport's construction.
* Israel promised it would not disrupt the start of construction on a Gaza seaport. The U.S. will form a committee of Israeli and PA representatives that will formulate security guidelines on the basis of the model of the Rafah crossing and other crossings.
PA leaders expressed their great satisfaction with the agreement, emphasizing the economic achievements and the preservation of their sovereignty. Dahlan noted that the PA had achieved the "maximum that was possible."