Israel’s plan to open the Rafah border crossing one way; only allowing the exit from Gaza, is a highly sensitive development in the war on Gaza, bringing to the forefront one of the most dangerous issues in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict: forced displacement and the reshaping of Gaza’s demographic reality.

 

Israel claims that the plan to open the Rafah crossing seeks to allow Gazans in need of medical care to seek it outside the enclave. However, it is evident that the plan is only a cover-up for Israel’s attempt to unilaterally run Gaza and drain it of its population by only allowing Gazans to leave the strip without guarantees of the right to return or reopening the border crossing in both directions to allow continuous and sustainable provision of humanitarian aid.

 

Jordan and seven countries jointly expressed their deep concern regarding the Israeli statements on the opening of the Rafah Crossing in one direction to transfer residents of the Gaza Strip into Egypt. In a shared statement, the foreign ministers of Jordan and the seven countries underscored their “absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land,” and stressed the necessity of full adherence to the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.

 

Under Trump's 20-point plan, the Rafah crossing was to open in both directions. In addition, the Washington-drafted peace plan calls for guaranteeing the population’s freedom of movement and forbidding any forced departure from the Gaza Strip, while creating the conditions for residents to remain on their land and actively participate in rebuilding their homeland, as part of a comprehensive vision to restore stability and improve humanitarian conditions.

 

For two years, the Rafah crossing, Gaza's main gateway and its only border with a country other than Israel, has remained closed. In October, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Rafah border would stay shut until Hamas returns the last of the hostages. Now, Israel seeks to reopen the crossing point in one direction, not as a humanitarian measure to alleviate the suffering of Gazans but as an exit-only bid to ensure Gaza would remain weakened as its population shrinks quietly.

 

The exit-only plan risks trapping Gazans in a difficult situation; as those who choose to leave for medical care or to escape the dire health and living conditions may lose their right to return to their land, homes and lives. This would not be the first time that Israel drives Palestinians into displacement and denies them their right of return.

 

Under this plan, Isarel is effectively engineering a displacement wave, an attempt recognised and denounced by Jordan and other Arab and Islamic countries.

 

Jordan has always warned against Israeli narratives promoting “voluntary departure,” describing them as politically rebranded forms of pressure and ethnic cleansing. And this recent announcement by Israel of exit-only from Gaza is another attempt to drive the people of Gaza from their land under the guise of voluntary departure, when Israel is actually pushing a population starved for two years out of their homeland after denying them their basic human rights and dignified living.

 

His Majesty King Abdullah reaffirmed Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians, declaring “no to displacement, no to resettlement, no to an alternative homeland.” King Abdullah has consistently emphasised this position and expressed Jordan’s rejection to any attempts to uproot Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, instead calling for the reconstruction of Gaza while ensuring that its people remain rooted on their land.

 

Jordan’s position is grounded in rejecting annexation, preventing demographic engineering and preserving the two-state solution based on the 4 June 1967 lines, including the occupied territories in Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

 

The international community, which has so far failed to impose a lasting ceasefire in Gaza or ensure the safe and consistent flow of aid, is now demanded to take a strong stance against the dangers of displacement. Opening the Rafah crossing in only one direction risks turning humanitarian pressure into a tool of political leverage used to reshape realities on the ground.