Former Shin Bet director Avi Dichter is warning that the Philadelphia Corridor — the strip of land that was supposed to serve as a buffer between Gaza and Egypt — must remain in Israeli hands following the conclusion of the October 7th war.
“The Philadelphia axis must return to being under Israeli control, as it was since the 1967 war until the departure from Gaza in September 2005. We paid dearly for the mistake of leaving on October 7,” Dichter wrote in a post on the X social media platform.
ציר פילדלפי חייב לחזור להיות בשליטה ישראלית, כפי שהיה מאז מלחמת 67 ועד היציאה מעזה בספטמבר 2005. על הטעות של היציאה שילמנו ביוקר ב 7/10. pic.twitter.com/kBNBT1JEiu
— Avi Dichter אבי דיכטר (@avidichter) July 17, 2024
Dichter, who currently serves as the Likud Agriculture Minister and a member of Israel’s political-security cabinet, was quoted by Israeli journalist Ariel Kahane as saying that in 2005, as head of the Shin Bet, he opposed the withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor.
“As long as I served as head of the Shin Bet, we did not hand over the Corridor,” he said. “After I completed my term, the political echelon decided otherwise and the area immediately became the arming corridor for Hamas.
“It should be clearly said to all the security echelons and the military: There are no magic solutions on the Philadelphi Corridor issue! There is no substitute for the presence of our forces on the axis to prevent the flow of arms from Iran to Gaza.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently denied a report last Friday claiming negotiators were discussing a plan to transfer control over the strategic strip of land as part of a deal to free the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
“The Reuters report, according to which, Israel has discussed the possibility of withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor, is absolute fake news,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“The Prime Minister insists that Israel remain on the Philadelphi Corridor. He has instructed the negotiating teams accordingly, made this clear to US representatives this week, and updated the Security Cabinet to this effect last night.”
Israeli combat engineers are expanding the Philadelphi Corridor and demolishing any structure built within approximately 800 meters of the Gaza-Egypt border while sweeping the entire area along with that in nearby Rafah.
The IDF has repeatedly said it will take many months to complete the search for cross-border smuggling tunnels built by Hamas along the Gaza-Egypt border and near the Rafah Crossing.
Thus far, more than 20 such tunnels have been located, including several with complex systems that include multi-level passages, and some that penetrate deep into Rafah, the Gazan city that straddles the border with Egypt.
Some of the tunnels are wide enough to be used as a highway for smugglers’ trucks, bringing in everything from luxury goods, high-end vehicles and advanced arms and military consultants from Iran.
