For the first time since Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the European Union has been entrusted with a critical responsibility—one that could impact millions of Israelis and Palestinians and potentially reshape the entire region.
The Rafah crossing, Gaza’s gateway to Egypt and the wider world, is set to be removed from both Israeli and Hamas control and placed under the management of a multinational force. This force will oversee the movement of people, goods, and humanitarian aid, ensuring that the crossing is neither a tool of political manipulation nor a conduit for weapons smuggling. This arrangement follows protracted negotiations between the Israeli government, which took control of the crossing from Hamas last year, and delegations from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, who sought to restore it to Palestinian civilian control.
After months of diplomatic efforts, an agreement was reached to reinstate a system similar to the one in place between 2005 and 2007, in the brief period between Israel’s withdrawal and Hamas’s violent takeover of Gaza. During that time, the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) operated as a civilian mission tasked with assisting the Palestinian Authority in managing Rafah. In its 19 months of operation, the crossing facilitated nearly 450,000 individual crossings, with a daily average of 1,500 people.
However, in July 2007, following Hamas’s coup, the head of the EUBAM mission announced a temporary suspension of operations. From that point on, Rafah, along with the Philadelphi Corridor, fell under Hamas’s control. The crossing became a hub for arms smuggling and a lucrative taxation point for Hamas, which used the revenue to fund its terrorist activities. Egypt, much like Israel, had little interest in dealing with an extremist Islamist enclave and largely sealed its border with Gaza as well.
Now, following a devastating war that has brought suffering to both Israelis and Palestinians, there is a glimmer of hope. Europe has the opportunity to play a decisive role in stabilizing Gaza and ensuring a secure, properly managed crossing. The mission’s success hinges on two key objectives: first, facilitating free movement and trade for Gazans, allowing them access to Egypt and beyond; second, preventing the smuggling of weapons, drugs, and other contraband that could enable Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), or any other militant group to rearm and resume hostilities.
A peaceful, demilitarized, and jihadist-free Gaza under a Palestinian civilian government—an outcome envisioned when EUBAM was first established in 2005—would also be a blow to those in Israel’s pro-settlement camp who depict Gaza as a lawless, failed state to justify calls for resettlement under the guise of security concerns. It would also challenge the longstanding position of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies, who have at times viewed Hamas’s control of Gaza as a strategic asset that weakens the Palestinian Authority and provides Israel with a pretext to avoid peace negotiations.
Understanding these dynamics underscores the immense responsibility now placed on the European Union. A successful EUBAM mission could offer real security for Israelis, economic relief for Palestinians, and a pathway to greater stability in the region. Conversely, failure—whether through mismanagement or political hesitation—would likely lead to the resurgence of Hamas, which has vowed to repeat the October 7 attacks “a thousand times over,” and allow Netanyahu’s government to exploit renewed threats to sideline meaningful negotiations.
If Europe truly considers the nations of the Southern Mediterranean as its strategic partners, it must recognize the significance of this moment. The EU must approach its role at Rafah with the highest level of professionalism, resolve, and commitment. The stakes are too high for anything less.
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