One of the main disputes over the hostage deal is whether Israel should control the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza Strip - Egypt border, which has supplied the lifeblood of Hamas.
Estimates are that each year Hamas has smuggled at least $1 billion into Gaza along this border as well as various weapons. Since the start of the war, the IDF has found vast numbers of tunnels beneath the 14 kilometer border. Israel's deputy attorney general for international law Dr. Gilad Noam told the International Court of Justice in The Hague during the hearing on Israel's actions in Gaza, "Almost 700 shafts have been located in Rafah, and from them about 50 tunnels enter into Egyptian territory."
What is behind each side's insistence on controlling the corridor, and why is Egypt opposed to an Israeli presence there?
Pumping oxygen to let Hamas breathe
Dr. Ido Zelkovitz, Head- Middle East Studies Program at Yezreel Valley College explains the strategic importance for controlling the 14 kilometer corridor. "The corridor conceptually can cut off the economic and strategic oxygen pipeline of Hamas. Possession of the corridor prevents the smuggling of money and weapons," he says. The fact that dozens of tunnels were discovered beneath it illustrates the importance for Hamas in holding the corridor and reveals Egypt's incompetence and turning of a blind eye to the extensive smuggling system that Hamas built over about a decade and even more
Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, the former head of the research division in the IDF Military Intelligence division and Ministry of Strategic Affairs director general is today director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center adds that it is not for nothing that Hamas insists that Israel will not remain along the Philadelphi Corridor. "Hamas is interested in smuggling illegal weapons in and out. Israeli remaining along the Philadelphi Corridor would also be a significant strategic blow for them. If Israel wants to control Gaza militarily in the future, it will be more difficult if Hamas has an open lifeline."
Egyptian opposition to Israel's presence
The Philadelphi Corridor Egypt's total lack of control over the Sinai Peninsula. Hamas is just one terrorist organization in Gaza that takes advantage of the illegal economy in the peninsula, which generates an estimated $300 million a year. During 2023-2024, it is true that Cairo invested about 6.5 billion Egyptian pounds (about $210 million) in North Sinai alone, with the local Ministry of Finance financing about 44.6% of this, but Sinai remains the "soft underbelly" of Egypt. However, this does not prevent the al-Sisi regime from vehemently opposing the Israeli presence along the corridor, which serves Egypt's security as well.
Dr. Ofir Winter is a Senior Researcher at INSS and a lecturer at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Tel Aviv University says, "In recent years, a system of understandings was created between Egypt and Hamas, which Cairo began to exploit to its advantage. Egypt became the entity with its hand on the faucet of Gaza. It controlled the passage of goods and people to and from the Strip, which became an economic business and a lever of political power. It is also possible that the smuggling above and below the border allowed various parties in North Sinai to reap profits, which created a peace that was convenient for the authorities in Cairo after long years of terror in the Sinai peninsula."
Dr. Zelkovitz explains that Egypt is committed, at least outwardly, to show solidarity with the Palestinians and to recognize the sovereignty of the Gaza Strip. "Since this is the case, we see Egyptian opposition to the possession of the territory by the IDF. Beyond that, Egypt is very embarrassed by the revelations of the smuggling network and the tunnels that cross the border. These revelations harm both its credibility, and its ability to keep the sovereignty of holding the border and the agreements between it and Israel."
Dr. Winter mentions that according to the "borders agreement' between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2005, the PA was supposed to control the north side of the Rafah crossing. However, two years after that agreement, the Hamas coup took place. "Egypt fears that an Israeli presence along the Philadelphi Corridor will change from being temporary to permanent, and does not wish to legitimize it," explains Dr. Winter. "It sees the PA as the legitimate representative of the Palestinians, but in recent years has had to face the reality that Hamas is sovereign in the Strip. In addition, for Egypt, temporary security arrangements, such as allowing IDF positions along the corridor until an underground barrier is erected on the Egyptian side of the border may become a permanent reality if the ceasefire collapses. This Israeli demand is also not acceptable to Hamas, which pushes away the ceasefire that Egypt is interested in."
Could Israel return to the corridor after withdrawing?
Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on Israeli control of the Philadelphia Corridor justified? The experts are divided. "An Israeli tactical retreat is certainly possible and the recapture of the corridor is not a task that creates too complex a challenge for the IDF," explains Dr. Zelkovitz. "After the significant maneuver carried out by the army, in which it 'cleaned up' the area from attacks, it can, if necessary, recapture it very quickly.
"I would expect that holding the corridors would be used by Israel as a negotiating card, with understanding that the red line Israel must not give up not ending the war until achieving the necessary and most strategically important goal of eliminating all of Hamas' military capabilities and weakening its civilian government capabilities. Without achieving both these aims, discussions about the day after cannot take place."
Kuperwasser says Israel can return to the Philadelphi Corridor later, but in his estimation the Americans and other international parties see the ceasefire as the end of the war. The meaning, according to him, is that Hamas will have border access to Egypt. "I do not believe that Hamas will agree to a clause that prohibits arms smuggling, but on the other hand we see how sensitive the situation is and the incident with the hostages sharpens how the decision is not easy. It's a difficult dilemma."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 2, 2024.
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