Israel and US at odds over Gaza’s vital Salah Al Din corridor

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Divisions between Israel and its closest ally appear to be widening as officials remain at odds over the future of Gaza’s strategic Salah Al Din strip, or the Philadelphi Corridor – now seen as the main obstacle to a ceasefire deal in the war-torn enclave.
On Tuesday, Washington said a ceasefire deal must include a full withdrawal from the corridor, on the border with Egypt – a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep troops at the strip and rebuffed calls from within his own cabinet to do otherwise.
“The bridging proposal that we started working with … included the removal of defence forces from all densely populated areas, and that includes those areas along that corridor,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “That’s the proposal that Israel agreed to and we’re going to continue to work on this as hard as we can.”
Calls for Israel to leave the corridor intensified after six hostages were found dead in Gaza at the weekend, three of whom were scheduled to have been released as part of a US-proposed ceasefire in July. A general strike was called across Israel on Monday as anti-war protesters brought Tel Aviv to a standstill, while bereaved families said the hostages had been “sacrificed for Philadelphi”.
However, Mr Netanyahu, whose popularity continues to plummet over his insistence on continuing the war, said Hamas “can forget” about Israel leaving the corridor, which he described as “oxygen” for the Iran-backed militant group.
“Hamas insists we must not be there and it’s for that reason I insist we must be there,” he told a press conference in Jerusalem as thousands of people gathered across Israel in protest, demanding he agree to a deal and secure the release of the 101 hostages still held in Gaza.
His speech came hours after Mossad director David Barnea reportedly told negotiators Israel was willing to leave the corridor, exposing the cracks in Israel’s top brass.
Mr Netanyahu seemingly hardened his response again on Wednesday, tweeting a New York Times opinion column that described a hostage deal as “a poison pill” for Israel.
The Prime Minister, facing corruption charges that could spell an end to his political career, has long been accused of obstructing a ceasefire deal for his own political gain.
On Wednesday, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported he was using the Salah Al Din border strip to justify his rejection of any effort to end the war. “Netanyahu decided some weeks ago that he does not want a deal, and when it became possible, he got nervous and did all he could to torpedo,” a government source told the outlet. “He figured out that by using the Philadelphi corridor, he could also draw the sane right to his side, and win some points with this group.
“The media fell for this spin and is consumed all day long with the question of yes or no to the Philadelphi, when the real question is really the fate of the hostages versus the fate of the coalition,” they added.
While some government ministers have called on Mr Netanyahu to reverse last week’s decision to keep troops in the corridor, internal action to force his hand seems unlikely. “Not one minister, including those who know that Netanyahu is sabotaging a deal, will do anything,” the source added. “They are bound to one another, their political survival depends on the government’s survival, and therefore this situation will continue. Netanyahu will pursue an endless war because that’s what is good for him.”
The Salah Al Din corridor, initially intended to be part of a demilitarised zone following the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, straddles some of Gaza’s most critical land crossings, which will be vital to postwar efforts to reconstruct the enclave. Israel claims it is vital to Hamas weapons deliveries from Iran – with Mr Netanyahu going as far as to claim it can also be used to move hostages to Iran.
In his Wednesday speech, he referenced the 2005 Israeli withdrawal from Gaza – saying he told then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that it would be “creating a monster” if it left the corridor.
“In my resignation letter, I demanded Philadelphi should remain in our hands as a minimum. It’s nothing new,” he said. “The Philadelphi axis is different from all the others, it decides our entire future. Once we get out, we wont be able to get back in.”
Egypt has warned it will not accept a permanent Israeli presence in the corridor, while Mr Netanyahu has accused Cairo of failing to properly secure the strip. Egypt has since issued a statement condemning the Israeli PM’s speech on Monday, later followed by statements from the UAE, Jordan and Qatar, the main mediator between Israel and Hamas.
Doha said Mr Netanyahu’s comments on the corridor were “unacceptable” and said he had “tried to drag Egypt’s name and distract Israeli public opinion and obstruct joint mediation efforts”.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it expressed “full solidarity” with Egypt after Mr Netanyahu’s comments on the corridor and “denounced in the strongest terms the offensive Israeli statements”. It also commended ongoing ceasefire talks, expressing “hope that it would lead to an end to the war, safeguarding Palestinians from additional suffering and reinforcing pillars of stability that achieves sustainable peace in the region”.