Gaza Strip 'Checkpoint Rafah 2': The Blueprint for Permanent Imprisonment
📰 THE STORY: The New Arab reports that Israel is continuing its strikes across Gaza while simultaneously planning a new 'Rafah 2' checkpoint for Palestinians, to be situated 3km from the current crossing. This development coincides with visits from US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss 'reconstruction' for Gaza. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: Israel has
maintained tight control over Gaza's borders for 17 years, imposing a blockade since 2007 that Human Rights Watch calls 'collective punishment.' The current Rafah crossing, controlled jointly by Egypt and Israel (until recently), has been the only lifeline. A new checkpoint, 3km into Gaza, signifies an outright annexation of border territory, echoing the deliberate creation of 'buffer zones' and
permanent military installations that have consistently shrunk Palestinian land since the 1948 Nakba and the 1967 occupation. This isn't 'securing a border'; it's moving the border to consume more territory. Double Standard: Imagine any other nation bombing a territory, starving its inhabitants, destroying its infrastructure, and then openly announcing plans to build *its own internal checkpoint*
3 kilometers inside that territory, all while US envoys discuss 'reconstruction.' The international media would justifiably scream 'invasion' and 'annexation.' Yet, for Gaza, 'security concerns' and 'reconstruction' (with Jared Kushner, who profited massively from Abraham Accords land deals) are the sanitized terms used to describe what amounts to a permanent military occupation and further