Using Philadelphi to Block Hostages Deal

• CrossFireArabia
• September 5, 2024

Where do we go from here? Many people, including those in Israel are deeply frustrated with the prolonged war on Gaza because of the stubbornness of one man who for selfish reasons doesn’t want to stop the war on Gaza that has now been going on for the best part of a year.

Sources close to the Israeli government have revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deliberately undermining a potential prisoner deal that may be reached through American, Qatari and Egyptian mediation for his own political, personal gains and reasons.

According to an analysis published in the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, Netanyahu decided weeks ago he did not want a deal to free Israeli prisoners who remain in different parts of Gaza.

This is despite the opportunities that have arisen over the past weeks and months for such a deal and despite the extensive efforts of teams and delegates going to and coming back from Doha and Cairo where endless negotiations tick almost round the clock.

Today, a further obstacle has been bolted in these talks that have tended to circle around the Netanyahu personality and character. He is now – and has been for the last couple of weeks at least – using the so-called Philadelphi Corridor—a 14-kilometer stretch along the Gaza-Egypt border — to bolster his position among his extreme rightwing allies in the cabinet and stop a deal in its tracks, one that would release the hostages and end the war on Hamas.

Philadelphi Corridor

By focusing public and media attention on the corridor, Netanyahu has effectively shifted attention and the narrative away from the issue of the fate of Israeli prisoners – now down to slightly more than 100 – and have turned the debate instead over so-called measures to do with Israeli’s security and the refusal to move out of the corridor which is presently occupied by Israeli troops and that is unacceptable to Hamas because it would establish a permenant Israeli presence there.

An Israeli government insider revealed that the staunch anti-ceasefire prime minister, and acting with near-total dictatorial authority, has kept any potential exchange deal from reaching the cabinet, implying that it is confined to him alone and within his office.  

He said this unilateral approach, which has been pursued by Netanyahu over the past months has led to growing frustration among ministers in the government who recognize the sabotage but remain silent and have remained so in the past out of fear for their political survival and continuity in government.

“Netanyahu will pursue an endless war because that’s what is good for him,” the source stated, highlighting the prime minister’s willingness to prolong the conflict for personal and political advantage. This includes the legal consequences and court hearings he faces after the court.

The Haaretz analysis also criticizes the Israeli official narrative that Hamas will not agree to any deal, labeling it as a political ploy. This stance, coupled with Netanyahu’s declarations, has effectively killed any momentum for negotiations, leaving the fate of the prisoners hanging in the balance as reported in the Quds News Network.