A group of 12 MKs from the Likud, including two ministers, demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not hand over control of the Rafah Crossing to Palestinians.
"In recent days it has been announced that Israel intends to leave the Rafah Crossing open and transfer it to the control and supervision of the Palestinians, this is contrary to the agreement on the construction of a new border crossing under Israeli control and supervision," the MKs wrote to Netanyahu.
They added that "the importance of the operational activity in Rafah, which began very late, is mainly due to the regaining control of the border crossing from Egypt, which will establish our control over the area, thwart the massive smuggling arrangement of weapons and other materials to Hamas and interrupt the dangerous continuum between Gaza and Egypt."
"The idea of Ministers Gantz, Eisenkot and Gallant, and others, to give local Palestinians, under the auspices of international parties, control of the border and the crossing, is a dangerous fantasy, which also has no practical feasibility. This is the same thinking that led to the Oslo Accords and disengagement, it is what brought us the horrific massacre on October 7, and it is what will cause the next massacre, which may be much more cruel," they wrote.
"There is no victory without control," they clarified and emphasized that "it is impossible to defeat Hamas without fully controlling the border crossings and the sources of energy and aid. If we do not act in this manner, we will not be able to realize the goals of the war as determined by the cabinet headed by you."
"We call on you to put a stop to these dangerous initiatives, and make it clear that the control of the border along the Philadelphi corridor and the Rafah border crossing will remain under the full control of the IDF," the letter concluded.
The letter is signed by: Minister Nir Barkat, Minister Amihai Chikli, MK Moshe Saada, MK Dan Illouz, MK Amit Halevi, MK Ariel Kallner, MK Moshe Passal, MK Nissim Vauori, MK Hanoch Dov Milwidsky, MK Shalom Danino, MK Tali Gotliv, and MK Tsega Melaku.