00:00Now, the rougher border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was supposed to have a
00:05reopened in both directions under phase one of Donald Trump's ceasefire agreement.
00:10That hasn't happened.
00:11Israel now, however, says it will allow a limited reopening.
00:15Once it has recovered the remains of the last hostage from Hamas in Gaza, this.
00:20Following a visit by U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law.
00:25of the U.S. president.
00:27We can now go across to our correspondent, Nogatana Polsky.
00:30He's standing by in Jerusalem, Nogatana.
00:32So what is happening?
00:33Is this border crossing going to reopen?
00:35Well, I wish my answer to your question could be.
00:40As clear as the question itself, we don't really know Israel.
00:45It was did sign on the Trump ceasefire agreement.
00:50One of which, and one of their commitments of the Israeli government was that…
00:55they would permit the Rafah border crossing to open with Egyptian and Palestinian…
01:00guards, border guards in place.
01:03That has absolutely not…
01:05What happened, despite the fact that three times facing U.S. pressure, the Israeli government
01:09has announced…
01:10the border crossing at Rafah will open this week or tomorrow, it's never happened.
01:15This time, there has been, again, immense pressure by the Trump administration…
01:20and the Israeli government issued a very murky, mysterious…
01:25statement in the evening of that visit saying…
01:30Basically, yes, but not really.
01:31Basically, yes, but not really.
01:32It said that the border crossing will open…
01:35under the terms of the Trump ceasefire agreement, but…
01:40that it will happen only after the body of the final…
01:45Israeli hostage still buried in Gaza is returned to Israel…
01:50Israel recibir…
01:51And then it went on to say…
01:53That only one part of the…
01:55that only the transfer of people from Gaza to Egypt will have.
02:00It will happen, that goods cannot go through, that into Gaza...
02:05It's not going to let anyone through, so it really is unclear.
02:08Another thing we've heard here confusing...
02:10...matters even more, Delano, is that Israel may open a kind of...
02:15...alternate Rafah border crossing.
02:18That is being discussed right now and it was...
02:20...apparently discussed during the Witkopf and Kushner visit, meaning that Israel...
02:25...could say, well, we don't know what's happening at Rafah, but we're in charge of these other...
02:30...border crossing, sort of cancelling out this obligation...
02:35...that it has under the ceasefire terms to open Rafah by opening an alternate nearby...
02:40...border crossing, that its forces would control.
02:43In short, we don't know...
02:45...it is an obligation and the Palestinian leadership, the...
02:50...that's supposed to be the alternative Palestinian leadership for Gaza, has announced...
02:55...firmly that the border crossing will open and that Egypt and Palestine...
03:00...and Palestinian Authority, Egyptian and Palestinian Authority guards will be on site.
03:04No.
03:05Manonka, we're supposed to be in phase two of Donald Trump's ceasefire agreement...
03:10...yet the Israeli government still does not allow foreign journalists...
03:15...access to Gaza, how can the Netanyahu government...
03:20...continue to justify this move?
03:23Well, you know...
03:25...under...
03:25...under the law of Israel, it can't really.
03:28The...
03:29...in Israel, journalists...
03:30...have freedom of expression and freedom to work as they wish.
03:34So...
03:35...so it's a complicated scenario and today, just this morning, there was the final hearing...
03:40...at the Supreme Court, of which we at France 24 are a party.
03:45The Foreign Press Association of Israel and Palestine has petitioned the Israeli government to let...
03:50...us in to do our work in Gaza.
03:53The government's response today...
03:55...and this has been much delayed, this is...
03:57...I can't remember...
03:58...possibly the sixth delay.
04:00...here, Delano.
04:01The government's response, though, touched on Gaza, which is a very interesting...
04:05...point on Rafah, excuse me...
04:07...some of the judges asked the government's response...
04:10...representative, since we're in a ceasefire...
04:12...why can't journalists go in, humanitarian workers go in...
04:15...why can't journalists go in...
04:17...there were all kinds of explanations made about the...
04:20...safety of journalists, and then the...
04:23...and one of the judges specifically...
04:25...said, well, why...
04:26...why don't they just go in through Rafah, our attorney...
04:30...said, they are based in Israel, they have the right to work from Israel...
04:33...and then the question of...
04:35...Rafah came up and the government attorney said explicitly...
04:38...well, if it opens...
04:40...we'll see, so we're seeing the government on the one hand...
04:43...informal statements while...
04:45...the Wyckoff and Kushner are here saying...
04:47...yes, it'll open in some way...
04:49...and yet the government...
04:50...attorney to the Supreme Court...
04:53...said, we don't even know if it will...
04:55...open and that will also affect, of course, our ability to work in Gaza.
05:00Thank you very much.
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