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Source: https://jcfa.org/a-small-and-unnecessary-stamp-that-embodies-enormous-significance/
A Small and Unnecessary Stamp that Embodies Enormous Significance
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch - At the reopened Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the travel documents of those entering and exiting are being stamped with a seal bearing the inscription "State of Palestine," alongside a Palestinian flag. Through this stamp, the Palestinians operating the crossing are attempting to create a false reality, that those entering and leaving Gaza are doing so from a state that does not exist. Together with the use of the Palestinian Authority emblem as the symbol of the new National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), this is meant to reinforce the narrative that the Palestinian Authority (PA) controls the crossing in the name of the "State of Palestine." There is no reason for the State of Israel to agree to this. Following the Oct. 7 massacre, and in light of the recognition that the PA promotes terrorism, incites terrorism, rewards terrorism, calls for the destruction of Israel, and perpetuates the "right of return" narrative, a broad understanding emerged that the PA must not be given any future role in Gaza's administration. President Trump's ceasefire plan explicitly states that the PA will have no role in Gaza's administration until it completes a comprehensive reform program. In the current era of computerized border systems, a physical stamp carries no real operational significance. Its meaning is symbolic and declarative - it reflects who controls the territory. Ideally, as an expression of Israeli control, travel documents should be stamped by the State of Israel. However, given international sensitivities, alternative solutions are possible. The writer, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center.