I mentioned last week that a key indicator on the seriousness of the new Hamas-Fatah "unity" government would be how they treat the Rafah crossing.
Israel, the PA and the EU signed an agreement in 2005 allowing European observers on the Rafah border to watch for illegal smuggling, with Israeli observers watching via closed-circuit TV.
The question is: would the PA honor that agreement?
Further signs indicate that the answer is no.
According to Palestine Today, even ahead of specific negotiations between Hamas and Fatah to take place next week, both of them agree that the agreement will not be resumed. A Hamas spokesman said that any Israeli involvement is unacceptable.
Will the EU push back on this explicit abrogation of a signed agreement? Or is the word "unity" so dazzling that every other issue is regarded as irrelevant in its beautiful glare?
It seems that the EU is very big on expecting Israel to honor agreements with the new, unified PA, but not too bothered by the PA reneging on its own signed agreements - with the EU!
