A map showing the Philadelphia axis on the border with Egypt (Al Jazeera)
The official Israeli channel "Kan 11" revealed in its evening news, yesterday, Wednesday, that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken received assurances during his meetings with the Israeli political leadership that Tel Aviv will not move in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and the Philadelphia border axis (Salah al-Din axis) area without coordination. Complete with Egypt.
Netanyahu announced in his statements yesterday evening, Wednesday, that he had issued instructions to the Israeli army to move in Rafah.
According to the Israeli channel, Blinken expressed his concern about the upcoming operation in Rafah and whether civilian casualties could be reduced, and the message he heard came: “There will be no operation in Rafah when many people are there, and we are working to find a solution to evacuate the population.” Blinken also asked the Israeli Prime Minister to find a solution to the issue of preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The evening news of Kan 11 reported, “It does not seem that the operation in Rafah will be carried out any time soon. First of all, civilians will have to be evacuated, as Israel will not be able to act at a time when there are 1.2 million Gazans in the area, and the question is - According to the same source, where can the residents of Rafah be evacuated to? “Because returning to the northern Gaza Strip is not something Israel wants. The second matter, which is no less complicated, is coordination with Egypt.”
In recent days, Israel has held discussions with Egypt regarding the issue of the next day after the end of the war on Gaza. From the Israeli side, the talks were led by the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, and the coordinator of Israeli government activities, Ghassan Alyan.
Israel believes that Egypt is the most important factor the day after the end of the war, because Egypt is the only land entry and exit gateway to Gaza, and it acts as an influential and important factor in the Arab world.
Cairo announced late last month that any Israeli move towards occupying the Philadelphia Axis would lead to a serious and serious threat to Egyptian-Israeli relations. This came in the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's talk about the necessity of controlling the axis completely, as he said, "The Philadelphia axis must be under our control. It must be closed. It is clear that any other arrangement will not guarantee the disarmament we seek."
It should be noted that in September 2005, after 18 months of negotiations, Egypt and Israel signed the “Philadelphia Agreement,” which allowed the presence of Egyptian forces with light weapons in the region. The agreement revolved around the two parties assuming responsibility for “combatting hostile activities related to smuggling, infiltration and terrorism from any territory.” Of the two countries."
Source: Al Jazeera + Israeli press