While the US government sees an agreement between Israel and the Islamist Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage release within reach, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu remains adamant on questions surrounding the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. According to the US government, a deal is 90 percent complete. “The deal has a total of 18 paragraphs. 14 of these paragraphs are finished,” said a high-ranking government official. In addition to an Israeli troop presence in the Gaza Strip, the conditions for an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners have not yet been fully clarified. Hamas again called for more pressure to be put on Netanyahu.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock set off on a two-day trip to the Middle East with clear demands on her ally Israel. The Green politician again called for all efforts to be directed towards a humanitarian ceasefire that would lead to the release of the hostages and put an end to the deaths. “There is no military solution for Gaza or the situation in the West Bank,” she stressed ahead of the crisis talks in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel this Thursday and Friday.
The human rights organization Amnesty International, meanwhile, has made serious allegations against the Israeli army for the destruction of agricultural land and houses.
Israel’s Prime Minister sticks to the Philadelphia Corridor
Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear again in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening that he would stick to a permanent presence of Israeli troops in the so-called Philadelphia Corridor. This is a strip of land about 14 kilometers long on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which Netanyahu said should ensure that Hamas cannot smuggle weapons into the sealed-off coastal strip. “Clearing the Philadelphia Corridor does nothing to free the hostages,” he told international media.
In the attack on Israel by Hamas and other Islamist groups on October 7, 2023, more than 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others were taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground offensive in Gaza. According to Israeli counts, 101 people are still in Hamas’ hands. How many of them are still alive is unclear.
The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, in which Qatar and Egypt are mediating alongside the United States, to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, have not made any progress for months.
The US government representative stressed that the agreement does not explicitly mention the Philadelphia Corridor. However, it does provide for the withdrawal of the Israeli military from all densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip, and there was a dispute over whether the Philadelphia Corridor was part of this. “Due to this disagreement, the Israelis have put forward a proposal in recent weeks that would significantly reduce their presence in this corridor,” he stressed. A complete withdrawal of Israeli forces is only planned in the second phase of the deal.
Netanyahu: Hamas must not arm itself across the border
Netanyahu presented the situation differently to the media. He asked that they bring him “anyone” who could effectively ensure that Hamas would not rearm across the Gaza-Egypt border. Then they could talk about a withdrawal of the Israeli military. “But I don’t see that happening, and until that happens, we will stay there,” he added.
Critics accuse Netanyahu of exaggerating the strategic importance of the Philadelphia Corridor in order to prevent a ceasefire from being reached. They assume that Netanyahu’s far-right government partners could reject concessions to Hamas and cause his coalition to collapse. Netanyahu denies being influenced by this.
“We do not need any new proposals,” Hamas said on its website. “Now we must put pressure on Netanyahu and his government and force them to comply with the agreements.” Netanyahu must not delay the negotiations “in order to prolong the aggression against our people.”
Members of the UN Security Council also urged Israel and Hamas to agree on a ceasefire. “We know that the best way to rescue the remaining hostages and alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians is through a negotiated ceasefire,” said American UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Amnesty raises allegations against Israeli army
Amnesty International, meanwhile, accuses the Israeli military of systematically destroying agricultural land and thousands of houses in the eastern Gaza Strip after gaining control of the area. The human rights organization demands that this action of significantly expanding a “buffer zone” along the eastern border of the occupied Gaza Strip must be investigated as a war crime. Its own research shows that this may be a war crime of wanton destruction and collective punishment. The Israeli military justifies the demolition of buildings in the Gaza Strip by saying, among other things, that it will destroy tunnels and other terrorist infrastructure.
Murdered hostage in Hamas propaganda video
Meanwhile, the relatives of a hostage murdered last week agreed to publish a video that Hamas had made of 40-year-old Carmel Gat for propaganda purposes shortly before her death. In it, she calls on Israelis to demonstrate for a ceasefire agreement. “While we could not save her, we can still save the other hostages. We urgently need a deal now before it is too late,” said her cousin Gil Dickmann. Gat was shot dead by Hamas terrorists along with five other hostages – four men and one woman. Israeli security forces found their bodies in a tunnel a few days later.
Occupiers’ violence radicalizes young generation
Before her trip to the Middle East, Baerbock warned of a further escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank. Last week, Israel began a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank. An Israeli army spokesman justified the action with a significantly increased number of attacks on Israelis. At the same time, violence by extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank increased. The situation in the territory occupied since 1967 has worsened significantly since the start of the Gaza war.
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