Zionist retreat from Philadelphia and Netzarim; big humiliation for Bibi.
The Gaza war, which began on October 7, 2023, has now reached a ceasefire after about 15 months. One of the most important issues in the agreement between Hamas and Tel Aviv is the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Philadelphia and Netzarim crossings, which are located on the border between Gaza and the occupied territories.
Philadelphia Crossing
The Philadelphia Corridor is a strip of land about 9 miles (14 km) long and 100 meters wide along the Gaza-Egyptian border at the Rafah Crossing. After the Zionists withdrew from Gaza, this area was designated in 2005 as a demilitarized border zone that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Kerem Shalom Crossing. According to the 1979 agreement, Tel Aviv was allowed to deploy limited armed forces, including four infantry battalions, military installations, field fortifications, and UN observers in this corridor. The stated goal of these forces was to prevent weapons from entering Gaza through Egypt. After the occupation regime withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the corridor came under the control of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.
The Egyptians refer to this area as the Salah al-Din Corridor. In 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza, the joint administration of the area also ended. Three months after the start of the recent Gaza war, in January 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the reoccupation of the region, saying “Control of Philadelphia must be in our hands. Any other arrangement cannot guarantee the demilitarization we want.” Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing and the Philadelphia Corridor in May 2023. The Zionists also seized the Palestinian part of the corridor a short time later.
Netzarim Corridor
The Netzarim Corridor is 6 kilometers long and runs through the middle of Gaza. The Israeli army created this corridor during the recent war and extends from the border of the occupied territories with Gaza City to the Mediterranean Sea. The corridor is named after Netzarim, one of the illegal Israeli settlements. Some believe that this designation indicates that the extremist leaders of Tel Aviv are seeking to re-establish illegal settlements in this area. The Zionists have established several military bases in this corridor, which they use to monitor and control the Palestinians between the north and south of Gaza.
The Israeli army has designated two access points to this corridor as no-go zones and has threatened to target anyone entering the area around the Salah al-Din Road in central Gaza and the Rashid coastal highway. This area is a transit point for Palestinian civilian refugees. Data recently published by the Haaretz newspaper showed that the Israeli military has repeatedly carried out arbitrary killings of Palestinians along this axis without any verification of their identity or affiliation.
The Israeli regime’s approach to the corridors
After occupying these two corridors, Netanyahu announced that the regime would maintain military control over both corridors and the Rafah crossing and would add these demands to the ceasefire negotiations. He said: “Israel will not withdraw from the Philadelphia Corridor and the Netzarim axis under any circumstances.”
However, according to the recent ceasefire agreement, the Israeli forces will begin withdrawing from Gaza on the 22nd of the ceasefire. Accordingly, the Zionists will withdraw from the center of the Gaza Strip, especially from the Netzarim axis, to an area near the border and will completely dismantle military installations. The Israeli army has announced that it will withdraw most of its forces from there in stages, with only a small number of forces remaining in the area. Finally, after the release of the last prisoner on the 42nd day of the ceasefire, the occupiers will complete the withdrawal and withdraw from the Philadelphia axis within a maximum of 50 days. This withdrawal primarily includes the 99th Division of the Zionist Army, which is currently stationed on this axis.