On Friday, Oct. 10, the deputy prime minister of the Palestinian Arab national consensus government, Muhammad Mustafa, told reporters that his government would assume control of Gaza crossings this Sunday.
But there has been no transfer of control of the Gaza crossings, according to the director of Gaza crossings Mahir Abu Sabha and the undersecretary of the former Hamas-run Gaza ministry of interior Kamil Abu Madhi.
A source close to the matter confirmed to the Palestinian Arab media outlet Ma’an: “No changes at all have been made to the Palestinian teams operating border crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip.”
According to the ceasefire terms ending this past summer’s 50-day military conflict between Israel and Gaza, the Israeli blockade was to be “eased” and all materials entering the Gaza Strip was to be checked by Palestinian Authority crews to ensure no weapons enter Gaza.
But as with so many details of any arrangement with the Palestinian Arabs, no clear timelines or details regarding what exactly is supposed to happen and when have emerged. No doubt everyone will still blame Israel.