Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized his three-hour meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Monday afternoon as “positive” and “held in a good atmosphere.”
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Netanyahu “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the current American proposal on the release of our hostages, which takes into account Israel’s security needs, which he strongly insists on.”
There have been multiple reports citing Arab media, however, claiming that the latest proposal does not provide for an ongoing Israeli presence on the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer strip of land that was supposed to serve as a buffer on the border between Gaza and Egypt.
The “buffer” instead became a conduit for at multiple tunnels stretching from Gaza to Egypt and back, facilitating the import of terrorists, weapons, drugs, luxury goods and more. Some of those subterranean passages were found to have up to three stories and were large enough to accommodate massive trucks transporting various goods – all of which provided income to Egyptians and terrorists alike via import and export “taxes.”
An Israeli government spokesperson debunked those reports Monday afternoon at a briefing with reporters. Contrary to various reports, Israeli forces will not abandon the Philadelphi Corridor that serves as a buffer between Egypt and Gaza, said Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer.
“The prime minister stands firmly by the principle that the IDF will physically remain on the Philadelphi Corridor, the border with Egypt, to prevent the resupply of Hamas’ deadly weapons,” he said.
“The negotiations continue,” Mencer added. “We are working to create a framework agreement based upon the principles presented by the US in May to get our people home and achieve the other goals of the war.”
Israel has agreed to send Mossad director David Barnea, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and IDF hostage negotiator Major General Nitzan Alon to Cairo later this week to continue the talks.
