Israel’s security cabinet voted Thursday night to maintain a continued troop presence in the Philadelphia corridor, Gaza’s border with Egypt, in the event of a truce agreement and the release of hostages.
According to the criteria of
According to an official at the Prime Minister’s Office and witnesses of the meeting, quoted by local media, Eight ministers voted in favor and the only vote against was that of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.This, according to local media, was the result of a heated argument between Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Netanyahu-Gallant argument
According to Channel 12, the Times of Israel and other local media, Gallant and Netanyahu argued bitterly over whether, as part of any deal, the Israeli military should abandon the corridor.
One of the main stumbling blocks in negotiations to establish a ceasefire in Gaza has been the demand that Israel withdraw its troops from that border, including the Rafah crossing point, which was the only one in Palestinian territory that was not controlled by Israel before the conflict.
Local media reports that Netanyahu drew up maps showing how Israeli forces should remain in the corridor during the first phase of the agreementwhich would also see the release of hostages, to prevent Hamas from resuming arms smuggling through tunnels running beneath the corridor.
Gallant then interjected: “What matters about this is that Hamas will not accept it, so there will be no deal and no hostages released.” He also noted that the prime minister had drawn up different maps to those used by Israeli negotiators in Cairo, adding: “You imposed these maps on them.”
Netanyahu angrily rejected the claim, and local media reported that his defense minister insisted. “Of course you forced him. You are conducting the negotiations on your own,” he said.
According to media reports, Netanyahu is reported to have argued during the vote that Hamas was able to carry out the October 7 attack because Israel had no control over the Philadelphia corridor, and that this decision will make a deal more plausible since Hamas will know it will have to compromise if it wants a truce.
The information that was made public indicates that Gallant said at one point that “the prime minister (Netanyahu) can make all the decisions, and he can also decide to kill all the hostages.”prompting rebukes from other ministers. He added that “30 lives are at stake,” referring to the hostages held by Hamas.
Gallant is reported to have said he would decide on one of two options: “Either stay in Philadelphia or bring back the hostages.” He said that “in the end Sinwar (Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar) will dictate to you and you will back down.” Sinwar is considered the mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and was named Hamas’s new leader in early August.
Netanyahu, in response, reportedly insisted that no one was dictating anything to him, saying that “only a determined negotiation will make him (Sinwar) back down.”
In the vote, radical National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir abstained, apparently considering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance not tough enough.
“After almost a year of neglect, Netanyahu is not missing a single opportunity to ensure that there will be no deal,” the forum representing hostage families said on Friday after the vote was announced. “Not a day goes by without Netanyahu taking concrete steps to jeopardize the return home of all the hostages.”
On August 25, both the Israeli and Hamas delegations left Cairo without any progress – after a summit with mediators from Qatar, the US and Egypt – due to Hamas’ refusal to allow the permanent presence of Israeli troops on the border with Egypt, a recent demand by Netanyahu.
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