Israeli PM Denies Approving Withdrawal of Troops from Philadelphia Corridor in Gaza
The Israeli press cited officials among Palestinians stating that the USA introduced to Netanyahu the conditions of a potential truce with Hamas, including the Israelis’ withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border. On Wednesday, sources in the Israeli PM’s office vehemently denied information about the withdrawal proposal for the Philadelphi Corridor in possible ceasefire and prisoner exchange with Hamas.
In the early hours of the day, KAN, the Israeli public broadcasting system, pointed out that Netanyahu had seemed to accept the U.S. offer to the second phase of the deal, which involved withdrawing forces from the Philadelphia Corridor. But the report also said that Hamas and Egypt were demanding that the area be depopulated in the first stage.
In a short reply, opponents of Netanyahu got their answer, which KAN and several other media outlets published: Netanyahu’s office denies the allegations. The statement went further, saying, “The report is wrong. The state of Israel will not be satisfied with anything less than all the war objectives as endorsed by the Security Cabinet.” The objectives stated include the need to ensure the demilitarisation of Gaza, and this can only be done by ensuring that Israel continues to exercise control over the Philadelphi Corridor.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Israeli sources suggested that Biden would call Netanyahu “tonight” to dissuade him from hardening the line on the corridor.
Despite the reported pressure, Netanyahu made a clear-cut statement on Tuesday: “Israel would not abandon the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor, how much as it is under tremendous pressure to quit these territories. ”
The Philadelphia Corridor, a 14-kilometre (8. 69-mile) wide demilitarised border area between Gaza and Egypt, is to this day the subject of negotiation between Israel and Hamas.
The three nations have been in talks for some time now the U. S. Qatar and Egypt, to mediate in the current relationship between Israel and Hamas to reduce the aggression between them and come up with a deal that enables the exchange of prisoners between the two warring sides, to put in place measures of putting an end into the aggression between the two with a view of opening up of humanitarian supply to the people in Gaza. But these efforts have been halted by Netanyahu’s failure to agree with Hamas’s demands to cease the war.
In more recent developments, ceasefire negotiations in Qatar provided a new proposal to close the gaps between Israel and Hamas. The proposal was claimed to be based on the principles ‘endorsed by President Biden on May 31’. However, this was not to be the case, as Hamas turned down the proposal because it squarely supported Netanyahu’s demand.
The attack on the Gaza Strip by Israel has intensified further in the last few days after a deadly attack by Hamas in the afternoon of the 7th of the month, despite a UN Security Council resolution that urged for an immediate ceasefire.
The seven-year war has claimed the lives of more than forty thousand, one hundred and seventy Palestinians, mainly women and children. In comparison, more than ninety-two thousand seven hundred and forty Palestinians have been reported injured by the local health ministry. This has caused a suffering population, with a lack of food, clean water, and medical supplies, and much of this area of Gaza remains in ruins due to the blockade.
In such new developments, Israel is standing trial for Genocide in the International Court of Justice, was forced to cease its military operations in the southern city of Rafah, now hosting several million Palestinians, before the town was invaded on May 6.
