Cairo stresses that Israel’s position is “unacceptable” and calls for “a return to the situation prior to October 7” on the border
September 3 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Egyptian government has expressed its firm rejection of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining the deployment of Israeli troops in the Philadelphia corridor regardless of any possible agreement for a ceasefire or an end to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati stressed that Cairo “unequivocally rejects” Israel’s continued control of the corridor and said that this possibility is “unacceptable,” hours after Netanyahu reiterated his willingness to maintain this plan, which was backed last week by the Israeli government.
He also stressed that “Egypt insists on operating the other side of the border crossing under Palestinian supervision” and called for “a return to the situation prior to October 7,” in relation to the date on which the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions attacked Israel, which unleashed the Israeli military offensive against Gaza.
Abdelati also said that “the international community has failed to address the aggression against Gaza” and criticised, in a meeting with media chiefs in the African country, that some states “act hypocritically and with double standards”, according to the Egyptian newspaper ‘Al Ahram’.
Netanyahu on Monday reiterated his demand for maintaining an Israeli military presence in the Philadelphia corridor separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, one of the main obstacles to an agreement with Hamas that would include a ceasefire and the release of hostages kidnapped on October 7 and held in the Gaza Strip.
He said the corridor “is the oxygen and weapons route for Hamas.” “When we left Gaza and the Philadelphia corridor, the border between Gaza and Egypt, there was no barrier to the massive entry of weapons and machinery for the production of weapons and tunnelling, all with the sponsorship of Iran,” he said, before arguing that “the axis of evil needs the Philadelphia corridor.”
The Philadelphia Corridor is the name given to the 14-kilometre-long strip of land that runs along the border, the Palestinian side of which came under the control of the Palestinian Authority following the 2005 ‘Disengagement Plan’ and the Egyptian side of which came under the control of Cairo.
However, Hamas seized control of the area after it took control of the enclave following intra-Palestinian fighting in 2007, following disputes stemming from the previous year’s elections. Egypt, which has a peace agreement with Israel since 1979, has warned Israel about the risk of operations in the area.
The Israeli army launched an offensive against Gaza following the attacks on October 7, which left around 1,200 dead and nearly 250 kidnapped. The offensive has so far left around 40,800 Palestinians dead, according to the Gazan authorities, controlled by Hamas, a figure to which must be added more than 660 dead in the West Bank and East Jerusalem at the hands of Israeli forces or settlers.
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