Israeli negotiators have told mediators in recent days that they still support a full Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrawal from the Philadelphia corridor in the second phase of the hostage deal, Israel’s public broadcaster Khan reported.
The information comes despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments on Monday that Jerusalem must maintain a military presence there indefinitely.
Confirming the Haaretz report, an Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel that hours before Netanyahu’s press conference, Mossad chief David Barnea rushed to Doha two days ago to brief Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Jerusalem’s position.
Namely, Netanyahu’s office does not deny the reports.
Instead, it is claimed that the security cabinet has not yet discussed the second phase of the agreement.
The United States (U.S.) said yesterday that Israel had agreed to the latest proposal, which requires the IDF to withdraw from densely populated areas along the Philadelphia corridor during the first, six-week phase of the deal. Statements by a spokesman for the Biden administration left open the possibility of Israeli troops remaining in other parts of the corridor that are not near densely populated areas on the Egypt-Gaza border.
After U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he was close to presenting a final proposal to the parties by the end of the week, the Khan report said Washington planned to do so by Friday.
Egypt’s foreign ministry issued a statement rejecting the prime minister’s comments regarding the Philadelphia Corridor and the need for Israel to retain control of the Egyptian-Gaza border indefinitely.
“Cairo rejects Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements and holds him responsible for increasing tensions in the region,” the statement said.
The statement rejected Netanyahu’s claims that Cairo had allowed Hamas to smuggle weapons from the Sinai Peninsula into Gaza and accused the prime minister of attacking Egypt to distract the Israeli public from growing criticism of his conduct of the war.
Israel’s far-right national security minister said he was working to end Israel’s involvement in Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
“He is working to end negotiations with Hamas. The country where six hostages are killed in cold blood does not negotiate with the killers, but breaks off the negotiations, stops the transfer of fuel and electricity and crushes them until they collapse. Continuing to talk only encourages them to create more and more terror, including in Judea and Samaria,” Ben Gvir wrote, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
