Planning Underway for Their Handover at Rafah Crossing: What to Know About American Mercenaries 'Bancroft'?

It appears that “Israel” has finalized its plan regarding who will manage the Rafah Crossing, after seizing control of the eastern part of Rafah and taking over the vital crossing separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and killing Palestinian civilian employees.

After several discussions about returning authority to Mahmoud Abbas' administration, which left the crossing in 2007 following Hamas' control of Gaza, or Israeli military control returning the situation to what it was in 2005 before the Israeli withdrawal, or Egyptian and Arab roles, “Israel” chose an armed American private company to be responsible for operating the Rafah Crossing, amidst expectations that the Israeli Occupation will not be able to impose this solution in the future because resistance factions will not allow it, and perhaps Cairo as well, which benefits from the crossing.

Why an American Company? 

According to what was published by Haaretz on May 7, 2024, as reported by a journalist, the government of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu intends to transfer the responsibility of managing the Rafah Crossing to an American private company (whose name was not mentioned).

The Israeli newspaper said that members of the company are former elements of elite units in the U.S. Army.

The role of the company includes monitoring the goods entering Gaza from Egypt, preventing Hamas from regaining control of the crossing, and “Israel,” and the United States will assist it when necessary, according to Haaretz.

The important first note regarding what Israeli sources revealed to the newspaper is the claim that Egypt and the United States agree to this Israeli plan.

The newspaper pointed to an Egyptian–Israeli–American agreement to entrust a civilian armed body with the operation of the Rafah Crossing after the end of the military operation.

It mentioned that Tel Aviv, Washington, and Cairo intend to transfer responsibility for the Rafah Crossing after the end of the Israeli military operation to an American private security company.

The second note is that Haaretz clarified that this company will be assigned the task of managing the movement at the Rafah Crossing, and it will also inspect trucks and prevent Hamas from returning.

As for the third note on the Israeli announcement, it is that the American company that will manage the Rafah Crossing specializes in guarding strategic sites in conflict areas in Africa.

Just as there has been no clear Egyptian position on Israeli violation of the peace agreement (Camp David) by occupying the Rafah Crossing, Cairo has not officially commented on what was published regarding the management of the crossing by an American private company, especially since the proposal did not specify whether it would assume responsibility from the Gaza side only or from Egypt as well although the Egyptian military expert, Major General Samer Faraj, who was a commander under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, told Alhurra website on May 8 that control over the Rafah Crossing from the Egyptian side is Egyptian sovereignty over Egyptian land and Egypt will never accept any changes regarding it.

He said that the proposal for an American private company to control the Palestinian side of the crossing "may be acceptable," but on the condition of "the participation of the Palestinian Authority in managing the facility," and not limiting control to the Israeli and American sides only, and Egypt will have "no role in this matter."

However, former Egyptian military spokesman Brigadier General Mohamed Samir told Alhurra that he doubts that Egypt will agree to "the proposal to manage an American private company for the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing in its current form."

What is ‘Bancroft’?

According to an investigation conducted by Al-Estiklal, it turns out that Bancroft is a mercenary company operating in Africa, and its full name is Bancroft Global Development. It is a private military contracting company.

Bancroft states on its website that it specializes in managing complex projects in conflict zones across three different continents.

This company, under discussion, includes former elite unit fighters from the U.S. Army, and its projects integrate with official U.S. plans to extend influence in Africa.

According to Military Africa on February 13, 2024, it is partially affiliated with the U.S. State Department but claims to be independent.

Its American founder, Michael Stock, is reportedly linked to the notorious French mercenary Bob Denard and the far-right in America and Europe.

Military Times in May 2019 mentioned that this company signed contracts with the U.S. State Department to train forces of the African Union Mission, with a total of $33 million.

It has operated in several countries in Africa and the Middle East, providing security for strategic sites such as oil fields, airports, military bases, and sensitive border crossings.

It is among the prominent companies operating in Africa and has played a role in several countries, including the Central African Republic, replacing the Russian mercenary group Wagner, according to Africa News on December 27, 2023.

It has also played a role in training the Somali army in counterterrorism efforts, according to the Costs of War Project at the Hudson Institute.

Military Times reported in May 2019 that Bancroft received $490,000 for its services in Somalia, covering 12 months of work, and signed a new contract worth $730,000 in the same month.

Bancroft claims to have a presence in other African countries such as Kenya, Libya, and Uganda, but little is known about its activities in those countries.

American journalist James Porrazzo, via X, states that the United States, led by two former army soldiers and foreign French soldiers with extensive experience in Africa, is attempting to counter the influence of the Wagner Group in Africa through Bancroft.

He explained that Bancroft has achieved success in Somalia, Chad, Uganda, and Cameroon, along with a handful of Middle Eastern countries that he did not specify.

This American company first emerged in 1999 when Michael Stock, an heir to a banking family, established a non-profit organization called Landmine Clearance International, aimed at clearing populated areas in conflict-ridden countries of mines, explosive devices, and unexploded ordnance.

After several years, specifically in 2008, the organization changed its name to Bancroft Global Development, expanding its goals. It began to focus on security sectors and military force training.

Following the American wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Syria, private American military companies started offering new services, such as protecting airports, oil fields, pipelines, and energy supply systems. They also accompanied humanitarian convoys for international organizations, trained Iraqi and Saudi army personnel, provided prison control services in Iraq, logistical support to forces, aerial reconnaissance, and protection of ships from pirates, according to a report on this company published by the Russian Foreign Ministry's website on July 13, 2023.

Will Egypt Agree?

According to Haaretz, Israeli coordination with Egypt and the United States regarding the supervision of Rafah crossing by the American mercenary company, and Egypt's silence about describing the Israeli incursion as a breach of peace agreements, lead observers to speculate Egyptian involvement in this matter.

Several indicators support this speculation, such as the visit of the Israeli Chief of Staff and the Director of Shin Bet to Egypt on April 24, 2024, two weeks before the Rafah crossing incursion, as reported by Israeli newspapers. The Israeli military radio stated that "Halevi and Bar's visit to Egypt was in preparation for the impending Israeli ground operation in Rafah."

It was rumored that they agreed with the Egyptian regime on the details of the "limited" incursion into Rafah. This could explain Cairo's condemnation of the attack to save face, without mentioning that “Israel” violated the Camp David Accords, raising the question of whether what happened was "complicity or weakness."

Reports and satellite images showed Israeli tanks entering the Rafah crossing and Philadelphi Corridor on May 7, 2024, with Israeli soldiers deploying videos documenting the incursion. Israelis also published clips showing Israeli tanks arriving in front of the Gaza arrivals hall, near the border with Egypt and only about 50 meters away.

According to the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the Camp David Accords signed in 1979, the border between the two parties was divided into four zones, namely A, B, C, and D, demilitarized or lightly armed.

The agreement stipulated that Zone D, the Philadelphi Corridor, was a demilitarized area containing only Israeli infantry forces, which were under Israeli control and guard before withdrawing from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

The treaty allowed “Israel” to have a limited military force of only four infantry brigades, with a maximum of 4,000 soldiers, in Zone D, along with limited field fortifications and United Nations observers.

The agreement prohibited any tanks, artillery, or missiles, except for individual surface-to-air missiles. Thus, Israeli large-scale entry into the crossing and its proximity to the Egyptian arrivals hall, 43 meters away, clearly violated the agreement, which Egypt intentionally overlooked.

However, Israeli political analyst Ofir Winter stated in Maariv on May 8, 2024, that there is Egyptian concern related to Israeli breach of the military annex of the Egyptian–Israeli peace agreement.

He affirmed that “Israel” is allowed to have a maximum number of forces, namely four ground brigades, near the Egyptian borders. Therefore, Egypt could view the significant entry of Israeli ground forces — without coordination with it — as a violation of the agreements signed by the two countries with the peace treaty in 1979, updated in 2005 following the Gaza disengagement.

The Peace Agreement

In 1979, Egypt and “Israel” signed a peace treaty in which the Israeli side agreed to withdraw from the entire Sinai Peninsula, which it had occupied since 1967.

Later on, “Israel” withdrew from Sinai in several stages, with the final withdrawal completed on April 26, 1982. Subsequently, Israeli authorities opened the Rafah crossing, which they controlled until their withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.

From then until Hamas took control of governance in Gaza in 2007, the crossing was under the control of the European Union, which worked closely with Egyptian officials.

From 2007 until the Israeli incursion into the Rafah crossing on May 7, 2024, the crossing was managed by the Crossing Authority, controlled by Hamas.

“Israel” did not directly control the crossing before that date, but it monitored all activities in southern Gaza from the Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) military base and through other surveillance means.

This marks the first return of Israeli forces to the Rafah crossing since Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. Hamas is not expected to accept the presence or control of non-Palestinians at the crossings.

Osama Hamdan, Hamas official based in Beirut, confirmed that the movement would not succumb to military threats and would not accept any "occupation force" at the Rafah crossing, according to the Associated Press on May 7, 2024.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the official spokesperson for the Palestinian Presidency, stated on May 7, 2024, that the Israeli Occupation of the Rafah border crossing and the threat of displacing citizens are war crimes that the Israeli Occupation state must be held accountable for.

He added that the Rafah border crossing and the rest of the Gaza Strip are Palestinian territory under occupation according to international legitimacy. However, the U.S.-backed occupation, with its arms, money, and political cover, insists on continuing to challenge international legitimacy because the American veto will protect it.