Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer appeared to indicate that the IDF could leave the Philadelphi Corridor under certain conditions at a later date, even as he dismissed reports that Israel had agreed to withdraw from that buffer zone in Phase Two of a hostage deal.
“Until we have an actual, practical solution on the ground for the Philadelphi Corridor, Israel forces cannot leave,” Dermer told Bloomberg.
“For the last 20 years, we haven't had that,” he explained.
Dermer spoke as Israel is under pressure to agree to a temporary withdrawal to allow for the first phase of a three-part hostage deal to get underway.
At a press conference on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out his argument for retaining the corridor even if it meant losing the deal. Hamas had for years, he explained, smuggled weapons under that critical buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza.
He left the impression that Israel would never withdraw from the corridor and repeat the mistake it made in 2005 when it pulled out of that buffer zone only to recapture it in May of this year during the Gaza war.
Security concerns over Philadelphi Corridor
Reports in the Israeli media on Wednesday appeared to indicate that Mossad Chief David Barnea had informed the Qataris during a trip to Doha on Monday that Israel would withdraw in the second phase of a deal.
When quizzed about this report, Dermer said, “I cannot talk about the arrangements in a second phase because we haven't even negotiated” security details for that phase.
He noted that Egypt had not succeeded in halting smuggling under the corridor for the close to decades it patrols the border. So Israel needed very specific information about alternative security arrangements before it could make any decisions.
“The fact is, for the last 20 years since Israel left in the Disengagement, a move that was applauded by the whole world… we have not had a solution on the ground.
“I'm not questioning the intentions of the Egyptians. I'm questioning the results,” Dermer said.
He blamed the IDF pullout from the Philadelphi for the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7.
That attack “could not have happened without that border being open,” Dermer said.
Israel wants an agreement, he said, but there are still half-a-dozen questions that still need to be resolved, and the Philadelphi Corridor is one of those issues, he said.
“Israel’s government wants to get to a deal,” he said.
Dermer said he wanted to dispel the myth that there was a deal on the table waiting for Israel’s signature.
At no point has Hamas agreed to any deal that's on the table. They have rejected everything,” he said.
There only point of significant movement was when Hamas in early July dropped its demand for a permanent ceasefire at the start of Phase One of the agreement, Dermer said.
“They understood that there's not going to be an end of the war as an entry ticket into a deal,” Dermer said.
“There will be a temporary ceasefire of six weeks, and then during that temporary ceasefire, we're going to have to negotiate what would be the conditions of a permanent ceasefire,” Dermer said.
“The Philadelphi Corridor and how you block weapons from going into Gaza is an important part of that,” he said.