Israel, Egypt Discuss Philadelphi Deployment

Latest Developments

Israel sent a delegation to Cairo for discussions on August 22 about its long-term troop deployment along the Gaza-Egypt border. Negotiators led by Mossad director David Barnea presented Egyptian officials with an updated map showing planned Israel Defense Forces positions along the Philadelphi Corridor, which Hamas has demanded be cleared of troops as part of any Gaza ceasefire deal.

But Jerusalem has insisted on a continued military presence given the discovery of extensive arms smuggling, dating back years, to Hamas using tunnels and the Rafah border crossing. The Israeli delegation’s visit may preface a follow-up meeting in Cairo to last week’s convening of Barnea, his American and Egyptian counterparts, and the Qatari prime minister in Doha to agree on a new bridging proposal for a Gaza truce. Hamas rejected that blueprint and has given no indication it would attend the Cairo talks.

Expert Analysis

“Egypt spent weeks trying to prevent the Israelis from storming Rafah, perhaps anticipating the embarrassment it would face from what would be found there. There is no more time for this double game. Why are the Egyptians, who showed zero interest in admitting Gaza war refugees, suddenly so adamant about the supposed sanctity of free Palestinian access to this border?” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Israel is trying to prevent the inevitable attempts by Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip to rearm after the war’s end. Given the prevailing skepticism regarding Egypt’s ability to effectively halt arms smuggling along its northern border with Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ensuring that the Jewish state does not repeat the same mistake of relying on another country to ensure that Palestinian terrorist groups are not able to rearm.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

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