Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that Israel must control the Philadelphia corridor, which links Gaza to Egypt.
“We will not withdraw from the Philadelphia Corridor,” Netanyahu said Monday (2) at a news conference, adding that its control is crucial to bringing back the hostages and eliminating the Hamas threat.
“The axis of evil needs the Philadelphia Corridor. We need to have it under our control,” he said.
The prime minister called for unity but acknowledged divisions within his cabinet, saying ministers believe Israeli forces should withdraw from the corridor.
“That’s why I had to take this to the cabinet formally to make sure that there are things we will not compromise on,” Netanyahu said.
He added that he was shocked to hear the sentiments of these ministers after the cabinet’s decision to remain in the corridor was adopted, raising concerns about what kind of message this would send to Hamas.
The corridor is a 14-kilometer strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt that the Israeli army currently controls.
The presence of Israeli troops throughout the region has been a major point of contention in ceasefire and hostage negotiations with Hamas.
Israel has demanded control of the border zone in the first phase of a deal, while Hamas has said Israeli troops must withdraw.
This content was originally published in Netanyahu says Israel will maintain control of corridor linking Gaza to Egypt on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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