The PA will rule the Gaza Strip - Former Aide to Egyptian Foreign Minister

Former Aide to Egyptian Foreign Minister Muhammad Hijazi: Today [with the opening of the Rafah crossing] is a distinctly Palestinian day, a day of emphasizing Palestinian national sovereignty... I estimate that when we emphasize today the presence of the PA and Palestinian sovereignty over the Rafah crossing on [the side] overlooking the Egyptian border, we [thereby express] our belief [that this step] marks the start of the process towards [establishing] the Palestinian state… The other side of the Rafah crossing in the Gaza Strip is a Palestinian side [managed by] the PA, which will respond to the [reform] demands presented to it [to make] several amendments and apply its sovereignty over the Gaza Strip.We will never agree to the division and separation of the Palestinian territory between the West Bank and East Jerusalem on one hand, and between the Gaza Strip [and the West Bank] on the other… The sovereign presence of the PA, which manages and pays almost all the salaries [of the PA employees] in the Gaza Strip, cannot be ignored, and it is the entity with the greatest governing ability."

[Official PA TV, Capital of Capitals, Feb. 2, 2026]