Egypt has restated its opposition to any Israeli presence in the Philadelphi corridor (also known as the Salah El-Din axis) and the Rafah gate as a condition of any peace agreement, a high-level Egyptian source told Extra News TV on Monday.
The Egyptian government emphasized its position on the critical points of any peace agreement, particularly the firm rejection of Israeli presence in the Philadelphi corridor and the Rafah crossing. A source cited by the channel stated that the ongoing Israeli conflict and the potential for regional expansion pose significant dangers and could lead to severe consequences across multiple dimensions.
The source also blamed the Israeli government for failing to reach a ceasefire deal, accusing it of attempting to impose a new reality on the ground to mask its internal crisis. For months, Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have been working to mediate a deal between Hamas and Israel to end the more-than-10-month-old Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Israel’s insistence on maintaining troops on the 14-kilometer corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border has become a significant point of contention. As a result, Egypt has consistently stressed the need for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor and the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which has been under Israeli control since May.
Also, Egypt rejected Israeli and American proposals to construct Israeli watchtowers along the Philadelphi corridor, as the Wall Street Journal reported on 22 August. Since 7 October, Israel’s actions have resulted in the death and injury of over 130,000 Palestinians, with a majority being children and women. Additionally, most of the strip’s infrastructure has been damaged. Tensions heightened further with renewed Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank that began last week, mainly targeting the cities of Jenin, Nablus, Tubas, and Tulkarem, leading to more casualties among Palestinians.
