Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Friday that contrary to media reports, Israel has no intention of withdrawing from the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphia Corridor, in a hostage deal.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement (via the Government Press Office):
The Reuters report that Israel has discussed a possible withdrawal from the Philadelphia Corridor is completely fake news.
The Prime Minister is insisting that Israel remain in the Philadelphia Corridor. He has instructed his negotiating team to do so, made this clear to the US delegation this week, and conveyed this to the Security Council last night.
But the authorities Said The Times of Israel reports that a withdrawal is indeed being discussed between Hamas and Israeli mediators: “Despite denials from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, two officials involved in the hostage negotiations told The Times of Israel that Israeli negotiators are indeed discussing the possibility of an IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphia Corridor linking Gaza with Egypt as part of a ceasefire agreement.”
The border would be secured by an underground wall rather than an Israeli military presence.
Recent opinion polls suggest that abandoning the Philadelphia Corridor, one of the hard-earned fruits of the Rafah invasion that exposed many rocket launchers and smuggling tunnels, would be deeply unpopular among Israelis.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
