Netanyahu says Israel will not leave border area between Gaza and Egypt

5/9/2024 5:54

        Israeli Prime Minister
        Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel will only agree
        to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza that guarantees the border area
        between southern Gaza and Egypt could never be used as a
        lifeline for the Islamist movement Hamas.
        
        "Until that happens, we're there," he told a news conference
        in Jerusalem.
        
        Netanyahu repeated his outright rejection of a withdrawal
        from the so-called Philadelphi corridor in the first phase of a
        deal, expected to last 42 days, saying international pressure
        would make it effectively impossible to return.
        
        For a permanent ceasefire to be agreed upon after that,
        Israel would need guarantees that whoever ran postwar Gaza would
        be able to prevent the corridor from being used as a route for
        smuggling weapons and supplies for Hamas.
        
        "Somebody has to be there," he said. "Bring me anyone who
        will actually show - not on paper, not in words, not on a slide
        - but day after day, week after week, month after month, that
        they can actually prevent a recurrence of what happened there
        before," he said, referring to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
        
        "We're open to consider it, but I don't see that
        happening right now."
        
        The Philadelphi corridor, along the southern edge of the
        Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, has been one of the main obstacles
        to a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and bring Israeli
        hostages home in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
        
        Netanyahu has insisted on retaining control of the
        corridor, where Israeli troops have uncovered dozens of tunnels
        that officials say have been used to supply Hamas with weapons
        and ammunition.
        
        The prime minister has faced heavy criticism from many
        in Israel for holding out on the issue, including from many in
        his own security establishment who believe Israeli troops can
        make targeted interventions if needed to prevent any smuggling.
        
        The families of many hostages, including some of the six
        whose bodies were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza on
        Sunday, have accused him of sacrificing their loved ones by
        insisting on keeping troops in the corridor.
        
        But he said maintaining pressure on Hamas was the best
        way to return the 101 hostages still remaining in Gaza.
        
        "You need to squeeze them, to put pressure on them to
        release the remaining hostages. So if you want to release the
        hostages, you've got to control the Philadelphi corridor," he
        said.