Statements by the Israeli Army on the Philadelphia Corridor
According to the latest statements from the Israeli army, army commander Halevi, together with his senior commanders, inspected the 14-kilometer Philadelphia Corridor on the Palestine-Egypt border. Drawing attention to the fact that this area contains important problems such as the re-emergence of Hamas, Halevi said, “We are preparing options for everything that is decided at the political level.”
“When the political level decides to stay in the Corridor, we will know how to stay here strongly,” Halevi said. He also stressed that preparations have been completed in terms of control and intervention if necessary. In recent weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has begun to put forward the condition that his army will remain in the Philadelphia Corridor in any agreement on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in the war on the Gaza Strip.
On the other side, the Hamas Movement insists that Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphia Corridor and Rafah Gate, is a fundamental condition for any agreement on a ceasefire and prisoner swap.
On the other hand, the Israeli state television channel KAN claimed that Halevi’s statements regarding the Philadelphia Corridor were made “after Israel discussed this issue in secret talks with mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar in recent days.” However, no official statement has yet been made by the mediators on the subject.
The Israeli army occupied Rafah, Gaza’s only gateway to Egypt, on May 7. The Israeli army, which launched ground attacks on Rafah and expanded its occupation of the area, has now taken complete control of the “Philadelphia Corridor.” Netanyahu had stipulated the continuation of the occupation of the “Philadelphia Corridor” as a condition in the indirect prisoner swap negotiations with Hamas.
