The Egyptian government on Tuesday rejected yesterday’s statement by the Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahuin which he said he will not abandon the Philadelphia Runnerwhich separates Egypt from Gaza, and held him responsible for the “consequences.”
“The Arab Republic of Egypt holds the Israeli government responsible for the consequences of making statements that further aggravate the situation and seek to justify aggressive and incendiary policies that lead to further escalation in the region,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Israeli Army presence in the Philadelphia corridor It is one of the main obstacles to reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Netanyahu said yesterday that the Philadelphia corridor “will not be evacuated,” considering that “if Israel loses its control, Gaza will become a kingdom of terrorism.”
“Egypt expresses its total rejection of the statements made by the Israeli Prime Minister on September 2, in which He tried to use the name of Egypt to distract Israeli public opinionhinder the achievement of a ceasefire agreement and the exchange of hostages and detainees,” the Egyptian foreign department said.
He also regretted that the Israeli Prime Minister’s position is aimed at “obstructing the mediation efforts undertaken byr Egypt, Qatar and the United States“to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that would allow for the exchange of hostages and prisoners.
“Egypt also reaffirms its rejection of all allegations by (other) Israeli officials in this regard,” referring to Philadelphia, which both Cairo and Hamas are demanding Israel evacuate, along with the Netzarim corridor – which divides Gaza between south and north – as a condition for reaching an agreement in Gaza.
The note also affirms “Egypt’s willingness to continue to play its historic role of leading the peace process in the region in a way that will lead to the maintenance of regional peace and security, and the achievement of stability for all peoples of the Middle East region.”
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Egypt, the first Arab country to sign peace with Israel (1978), has repeatedly insisted on lthe need for Israel to withdraw its troops from Philadelphiaas well as the Rafah border crossing – located in that corridor – which has been closed since Israeli troops took it last May.