Israel offers Hamas new proposal on Philadelphi corridor

CNN
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Egypt will hand Hamas Israel’s latest proposals on the Philadelphi corridor after Israel presented a revised plan on Thursday as efforts continue to secure a ceasefire to halt fighting in Gaza, a diplomat and an Israeli source familiar with the talks said.

The Israeli source said that the new Israeli proposal, which includes a map of the locations of the Israeli forces’ deployment, reduces the number of troops and military sites along the strategic corridor adjacent to Egypt compared to the previous Israeli position. The Egyptian negotiators had rejected the previous Israeli map a few days ago and refused to hand it over to Hamas, describing it as unworkable.

The Philadelphi Corridor is a 14-kilometre (8.7-mile) strip of land in southern Gaza along the border with Egypt – currently controlled by the Israel Defense Forces.

The deployment of Israeli forces along the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement was a major point of contention between Israel and Hamas. Israel demanded that it maintain control of the border area, while Hamas said that Israeli forces should withdraw from the area.

Hamas’s response to the new proposal will be crucial in determining whether it sends negotiators to the expected summit in Cairo on Sunday. If they do show up, the two sides may be able to hold real negotiations — with each side’s delegation occupying a room, and Egyptian and Qatari mediators back and forth.

The new proposal was the result of an hours-long meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his negotiating team on Thursday, in which Netanyahu agreed to reduce troop levels. The meeting came a day after Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden, who pushed Netanyahu to show more flexibility on the Philadelphi corridor.