Benjamin Netanyahu demands control of an area of ​​the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt

Israel is demanding to retain control of an area of ​​the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt that it captured in May in order to prevent the “arms smuggling” to the Palestinian Hamas from Egypt, the Israeli Prime Minister said on Thursday, July 11. This demand to keep the “Philadelphia Corridor and Rafah Crossing Point” is part of the “principles” posed by Israel as part of negotiations for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of hostages, said Benjamin Netanyahu. Hamas, for its part, is demanding the evacuation of this area by the Israeli army.

The Philadelphia Corridor is a thin buffer zone traced by the Israeli army during its second occupation of the Gaza Strip (1967-2005), now at least a hundred meters wide – more in places – and running along the 14 kilometers of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Crucial for the transit of humanitarian aid, the Rafah crossing is the only route between the Gaza Strip and a territory other than Israel. It has been closed since Israeli troops launched a major ground offensive against the city in early May, where the majority of the Gaza Strip’s population had taken refuge.

In a brief televised address, Benjamin Netanyahu recalled the other conditions set by his government in these negotiations in which Qatar, Egypt and the United States are serving as mediators. Any possible agreement “must allow Israel to resume fighting [à l’issue d’une éventuelle trêve] until the aims of the war are achieved”, he advanced. “Israel will not allow the return of armed terrorists or weapons to the northern Gaza Strip”he added, also demanding that in the first phase of the project under discussion “A maximum number of hostages be released”.