Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood firm on his principled point that the IDF must maintain a presence in the critical Philadelphi Corridor ahead of a fateful round of hostage talks in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu firmly stands by the principle that the IDF will physically remain in the Philadelphia Corridor,” an Israeli official said Wednesday.
The official spoke up amid continued reports that the IDF believes Israel could withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, which is a buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza, relying on other means to prevent weapons smuggling there.
Netanyahu has insisted that the only way to prevent weapons smuggling that would allow Hamas to rearm is for the IDF to physically be present at the Philadelphi Corridor.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi on Wednesday said the IDF was prepared for any decision the political echelon would make about the Philadelphi Corridor. Even if the political echelon wants the IDF to remain and hold onto the corridor indefinitely, it has the capability to do so, he said.
Halevi has also been of the opinion that Israel can electronically monitor the corridor and does not need to actually have soldiers posted there.
Halevi juxtaposed the two options: an IDF withdrawal or its continued presence. It seemed to imply he is ready to either withdraw from the corridor, as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Mossad Director David Barnea have said could be done temporarily as part of phase one of a hostage deal or to hold onto it if Hamas does not cut a deal.
Gallant and Netanyahu have fought over the issue in the last week, with the IDF backing Gallant’s belief that Israel can withdraw.
Halevi’s statement could be to signal to Hamas that the military will still carry out the government’s final decision, whatever that might be.
Netanyahu held consultations about the deal from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, after which he authorized the departure of a high-level delegation to hostage talks in Doha to secure the release of the remaining 115 hostages.
Barnea will head the Israeli delegation. He will be joined by Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, and Ophir Falk, Netanyahu’s policy adviser.
US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns will be in Qatar for the talks, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday, adding that he would be accompanied by Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and Africa.
The US, Qatar, and Egypt invited both Israel and Hamas to talks based on the framework of a three-part agreement US President Joe Biden first unveiled on May 31.
Qatar and Egypt have been the main mediators for the deal with the help of the United States.
Netanyahu gave the delegation a mandate to negotiate, a step that has not always been taken in all such meetings.
High stakes
Both Israel and Iran have raised the stakes for an agreement. Iran continues to threaten a reprisal attack against Israel and claims that the IDF was behind the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran two weeks ago.
Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy group in Lebanon, is also threatening to retaliate for the IDF killing of one of its commanders, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut two weeks ago.
The US hopes a hostage deal, which would start with a temporary pause to the Gaza war, will be transformed into a permanent ceasefire that would also thwart Iranian and Hezbollah reprisal attacks.
Israel has agreed to a temporary halt to the fighting in the first phase of the deal, but it has not agreed to a permanent ceasefire. The question itself would be negotiated in phase one of the deal.
Netanyahu has been accused of adding new terms to the deal, including the issue of the Philadelphi Corridor, which was not part of the original framework deal.
Netanyahu and the Prime Minister’s Office have insisted that they are not inserting new terms but are clarifying issues contained within the framework.
The US has said both sides have agreed to the framework, and that the gaps remain on the issue of how it will be implemented.
Hamas said on Wednesday it would not take part in a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks. Nevertheless, an official briefed on the talks said mediators expected to consult with the Palestinian terrorist group afterward.
Three senior Iranian officials have said only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Haniyeh on its soil last month.
Hamas has voiced skepticism about the chances of the talks delivering real results and blames Israel for stalling. Netanyahu says Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been the main obstacle to sealing a deal.
“Going to new negotiations allows the occupation to impose new conditions and employ the maze of negotiation to conduct more massacres,” Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Hamas’s absence from the talks, however, does not eliminate the chances of progress since its chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, is based in Doha, and it has open channels with Egypt and Qatar.
“Hamas is committed to the proposal presented to it on July 2, which is based on the UN Security Council resolution and the Biden speech, and the movement is prepared to immediately begin discussions over a mechanism to implement it,” Abu Zuhri said.
A person familiar with the matter said Hamas wants the mediators to come back to them with a “serious response” from Israel. If that happens, it would meet with mediators after the Thursday session, the source said.
An official briefed on the talks said mediators expected to consult with Hamas.
US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said he believed Hamas would participate in the talks.
“Our Qatari partners have assured us that there will be representation from Hamas,” he said.
Reuters contributed to this report.