Israeli media reported progress in the ongoing negotiations in the Qatari capital, Doha, regarding a prisoner exchange deal between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel, after about 11 months of ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli security and military leaderships confirm that the conditions are suitable for concluding a deal to return the prisoners, and that they are awaiting the decision of the political leadership in this regard.
According to the Israeli website “Walla”, Tel Aviv has given the mediators a list of the names of the Israeli prisoners it wants to include and return as part of the first phase of the deal. According to the same website, Hamas has also given its own list of the names of the prisoners it wants to include in this phase of the deal.
The website quoted Israeli and American sources as saying that “the main issue that the negotiating teams worked on was related to the mechanism for exchanging prisoners and the time period for the operation, and that the American administration was interested in presenting a summary of the details of implementing the deal, in order to convince Yahya Sinwar (head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas) and Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister) to make concessions on the basic issues that are still a matter of disagreement between the two parties.”
The Philadelphia Axis and the Strategic Dilemma
The leaked reports on the negotiations did not provide any new information regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, in light of Netanyahu’s insistence on keeping Israeli forces there, knowing that it was the subject of intense controversy in the last meeting of the security cabinet, where Netanyahu clashed with his Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who supports the position of the security and military leaderships for a complete withdrawal from it during the implementation of the first phase of the deal.
Despite the opposition of Defense Minister Galant and the leaders of the security services and the army, the cabinet approved Netanyahu’s plan to maintain military control over the Philadelphi corridor.
The session of the inner circle witnessed an exchange of shouting between Netanyahu and Galant, as observers said that what happened was an “ambush set by Netanyahu for Galant and the military and security leadership regarding the Philadelphi Corridor.”
The cabinet approved Netanyahu’s plan with the votes of 8 members of the council, including Netanyahu himself, with only Galant opposing it, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir abstaining.
Haaretz newspaper quoted cabinet ministers as saying that keeping the Israeli army in control of the Philadelphi corridor would contribute to the possibility of reaching a swap deal.
Channel 12 quoted Galant as saying sarcastically during the argument and shouting exchange with Netanyahu over the Philadelphi Corridor, “Netanyahu can make all the decisions, and he can also decide to kill all the kidnapped.”
In turn, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the meeting of the security cabinet regarding the Philadelphi Corridor witnessed a verbal confrontation and shouting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
The newspaper explained that Galant presented, at the ministerial security meeting, an overview of the “strategic crossroads” facing Israel.
When Netanyahu presented the Philadelphi Corridor maps, Galant attacked him and accused him of imposing them on the army.
Netanyahu then responded to Galant, saying he would bring the maps regarding Philadelphia to the cabinet for approval.
Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Netanyahu as saying that Washington and Cairo agreed to his maps, to which Galant replied that the discussion was not with them but with Sinwar.
The newspaper reported that two senior ministers, whom it did not name, described the confrontation between Netanyahu and Galant as the “most dangerous clash” between the two sides so far.
Channel 12 and the official broadcasting authority had quoted leading sources in the security and military establishment as saying that all detainees must be returned, and that the Philadelphi Corridor is not the stumbling block and is not sacred, and that withdrawing from it for 6 weeks (the first phase of the deal) will not have security or military repercussions.
According to what the authority quoted from those sources, “Israel is expected to lose international support, and its supply of weapons and ammunition will be affected if it is decided to keep Israeli forces in Gaza.”
The Philadelphi Corridor is located on the Palestinian territories between the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, along the Egyptian border with the Strip, and extends from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south, where the borders between Egypt, the Gaza Strip and the occupying state meet.
The axis forms a buffer strip between Egypt and the Strip, and is about 14 kilometers long and a few hundred meters wide. The Rafah land crossing was established on it, which represents the main outlet for Gazans to the outside world.
Israel, led by Netanyahu, insists on maintaining its military control over the Philadelphi and Netzarim axes, while the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) insists on the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, as part of any agreement to stop the war and exchange prisoners.
With American support, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in more than 134,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing.
Netanyahu’s plan for the day after in Gaza
On the other hand, indicators show that Netanyahu’s plan for the day after the war on Gaza is based on occupying it completely after appointing a brigadier general to be its “military governor” coordinator.
This paves the way for the implementation of Netanyahu’s plan, which was revealed by his close political affairs editor, Amit Segal, on Channel 12, who said in a tweet, “He wants to occupy the Strip and remain there for at least an entire generation.”
Retired General Effi Eitam, one of the most prominent right-wing leaders in the Israeli army, said that “Israel will have to control the Philadelphi and Netzarim axes, and remain in the entire Gaza Strip for at least five years, in order to completely disarm Hamas.”
According to Eitam, this “will create a future and prepare the ground for Israel to establish a local body to manage civil affairs in the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli press reports stated that the army created a new position called “Head of Civilian Humanitarian Efforts in the Gaza Strip” to manage humanitarian aspects and coordinate civil affairs, in a move aimed at consolidating the occupation of the Strip for a long period.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that Brigadier General Elad Goren will assume this new position, adding that this position is equivalent to the position of head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank.