From assurances to Qatar to leaving door open, Israeli stance lost

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Bloomberg TV + Israeli media
4 Sep 2024 19:10

The Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs calls a report that Tel Aviv is ready to withdraw from the strategic Philadelphi Corridor "misleading".

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Ron Dermer, current Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, attends a special session of the Knesset, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, on December 29, 2022. (AP)

Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, has affirmed that Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor in the second phase of a possible deal with the Palestinian Resistance is not definite.

Dermer, who is regarded as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's confidant, has starkly contradicted Israeli media reports that Tel Aviv will withdraw in the second phase of the agreement.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, the Minister stressed the government's position on withdrawal from the strategic corridor, saying that it would not withdraw in the first phase but would possibly do it in a negotiated second phase.

“Phase one of this deal, what it calls for… is to have negotiations over the conditions over a permanent ceasefire,” said Dermer. “And once you’ve concluded those negotiations, while you’re in a ceasefire for phase one, in order to get to phase two and a permanent ceasefire, that’s when you can discuss long-term security arrangements on the Philadelphi Corridor," rendering the withdrawal a possibility pending further negotiations rather than a fact.

This has long been the position of the Israeli regime in mediated talks and has been a major hurdle for finalizing a deal with the Palestinian Resistance. "Israel" maintains that it will negotiate a possible withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the second phase of the deal, where it is calling for a limited negotiating period to achieve a sustainable ceasefire.

Netanyahu's government has repeatedly refused to offer written commitments on the issue, in multiple rounds of negotiations.

Israeli regime's public position on the Philadelphi Corridor

Dermer detailed this position during his interview with the American-based TV.

"In phase one, Israel is going to stay on that line until we have a practical solution on the ground that can convince the people of Israel… that what happened on October 7 will not happen again," said Dermer.

The strategic affairs minister says that the condition for satisfying the Israeli settlers' worries is that the Palestinian Resistance "will not rearm."

He says that negotiations in phase one will open talks for "phase two and a permanent ceasefire."

This, for Dermer, is when the sides "can discuss long-term security arrangements on the Philadelphi Corridor."

Dermer said that the report by The Times of Israel that Netanyahu had dispatched Mossad chief and top negotiator David Barnea to Doha to inform mediators that the regime is prepared to withdraw from the corridor in the second phase of the deal is "misleading".

"I can’t talk about the arrangements in a second phase because we haven’t even negotiated about who is going to be there? How long is it going to take?" he maintained.

Source: Palestinian Resistance demands Israeli withdrawal in 1st phase

Dermer's remarks come after a report claimed that Barnea told mediators of the Israeli government's intention to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, as reported by The Times of Israel on Tuesday.

Confirming a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that hours before Netanyahu gave a press conference Monday, Mossad chief David Barnea flew urgently to Doha to pressure Qatar and inform Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani of the Israeli position regarding the Philadelphi Corridor.

The Walla news site reported that during Barnea’s Monday meeting with Al-Thani, the Qatari premier told the Mossad chief to urge Netanyahu to show more flexibility on several key issues, including the Philadelphi Corridor.

However, prior to the report being released, Netanyahu had organized a media address where he emphasized the importance of occupying points on the Philadelphi Corridor, which is a section of the Palestinian side of the Palestinian-Egyptian border in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu had also assembled his ministers to vote on not withdrawing from the corridor in any future deal, which gained all of the officials' votes except for that of Security Minister Yoav Gallant, who voted against, and Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who abstained.

The contradicting actions and reports also garnered the attention of Palestinian Resistance officials, one of whom spoke to Al Mayadeen on Wednesday.

In a statement to Al Mayadeen, a leading source in the Palestinian Resistance responded to what the head of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, said to mediators regarding the occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor.

In the details, the leader told Al Mayadeen that the head of the Mossad informed the mediators that the occupation forces "will withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor in the second phase of the agreement," stressing that the Resistance does not approve of that.

He added that "Hamas demands the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Philadelphi Corridor in the first phase, as there are no reliable guarantees for achieving the second phase."