Mustafa Bakri, an Egyptian journalist and member of parliament, said on Sunday that Israel's intent to control the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14 kilometer (8 mile) long stretch of land along the Gaza border with Egypt, would be a violation of the Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement.
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"When Netanyahu says that the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egyptian border should be under Israeli control, it is a blatant attack on the peace agreement between the two countries," he said in a post on X. "Don't get closer; the Egyptian border is a red line. It seems you’re not aware of the capabilities and strength of our army."
Netanyahu on Saturday, repeated his assertion that the area must remain under the control of the IDF to prevent smuggling. "The Philadelphi Corridor, or more accurately, the southern barrier, must be in our hands and must be closed. Any other arrangement will not guarantee the creation of a buffer zone we want and need to ensure."
Egypt has said that it had destroyed all the tunnels dug under the Egyptian border in past operations and that there were none that were still in use.
Bakri said Egypt cannot remain silent amid Israel's intent. "Netanyahu's audacity in threatening to occupy the Philadelphi Route must be responded to decisively. It strangles Gaza and turns it into a large prison, imposing a constant blockade on it, opening the way for the displacement of Palestinians to Egypt. A demonstration of force is needed at this time; silence won’t be effective. We are confident the leadership and the military won’t allow the enemy to carry out its plans."
The Qatari owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper earlier this month was devoted to the military activity on the Philadelphi Corridor since October 7, which had led to increasing tensions in relations between Israel and Egypt and even challenged previous agreements.
According to the article, the main point of contention was Israel's concern that the tunnels were still being used to smuggle advanced weapons into the Strip and could be used by Hamas leaders to escape Gaza to save themselves from the Israeli troops. Israel was also concerned that Hamas may smuggle Israeli captives through the tunnels to locations around the world.
In Cairo, however, officials insist that the area was completely free of tunnels. According to an Egyptian source, before the renewal of the fighting in early December, Israel raised these concerns in a meeting with Egyptian officials, who responded that should such tunnels exist Israel would be allowed to “blow them up.”