The recent disengagement from the Gaza Strip and Northern West Bank was successfully managed by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Some 9000 settlers were evacuated swiftly and with minimal incident. Remarkable professionalism was displayed by the IDF soldiers, enabling the settlers to move on in dignity and peace. The Palestinian Authority maintained calm and order during this highly emotional period, and the Palestinian security services displayed model cooperation with the IDF. Other than the settlement houses, which were dismantled by agreement between the parties the settlement assets were in large part left intact for the benefit of the Palestinians.

In short, we have all witnessed an historical event---and one that clearly signals the ability of the parties to work together.

Six Joint Issues

Since June, the Special Envoy and his team have focused most of their efforts on the "six plus three issues". The main current issue covered in intensive talks this month is the establishment of access between Gaza and Egypt.

At the time of writing, the issue of the crossing from Gaza to Egypt at Rafah is not resolved.

After several days of uncontrolled flows of Palestinians to and from Egypt, the PA security forces closed the Rafah crossing temporarily. Israel is proposing a temporary crossing point at Kerem Shalom/Dahnyeh for goods and people entering and leaving the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians are seeking to reopen Rafah for people very quickly. The elements of a solution— cameras, computers and other equipment; a third party presence; goods temporarily through Kerem Shalom, people sooner or later through Rafah—are generally agreed, but the parties need to discuss and agree the timing and the details. The resolution of this issue is crucially important for the other movement and access issues, described below.

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