Israel to Send Troops to Philadelphia Corridor: Last Minute Update
Tensions Rise as Israel Plans to Send Troops to Gaza’s Rafah City and the “Philadelphia Corridor”
Reports have emerged claiming that Israel has informed the Egyptian administration of its intention to send troops to Gaza’s Rafah city and the “Philadelphia Corridor”, also known as the Salahaddin Corridor. This has caused tensions to rise between the Tel Aviv and Cairo administrations.
According to the news from the Sky News Arabic channel, Egypt has opposed Israel’s request to send troops to the border line between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, as well as the city of Rafah. This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to occupy the Philadelphia Corridor last month.
Netanyahu first stated on December 10 that Israel would occupy the corridor, and reiterated this stance multiple times throughout the month. He emphasized that Israel must take control of the Philadelphia Corridor, stating that any other arrangement would not be accepted by Israel. The Prime Minister also claimed that it would be impossible to eliminate Hamas without taking control of the region.
The Philadelphia Corridor is a 14.5-kilometer buffer zone located on the border of Gaza and Egypt, established as part of the “Camp David” agreement signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979. Although the corridor is technically part of Palestinian territories, a certain number of Israeli forces were left in control of the area under the agreement.
After Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the Philadelphia Corridor was handed over to the Palestinian administration in the presence of European Union observers. An agreement was also made between Israel and Egypt regarding the security of the corridor, with Egypt maintaining 750 border guard soldiers responsible for tasks such as detecting terrorism, smuggling, and tunnels.
However, after Hamas gained control of Gaza following the 2006 elections, the Philadelphia Corridor came under the administration of the militant group. Over time, many tunnels leading to Egypt were constructed along the corridor, leading to increased tensions and security concerns in the region.
The reported intention of Israel to send troops to the Philadelphia Corridor and Rafah city has raised alarms, and it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold in the coming days.
