LEILA FADEL, HOST:
High-level Israeli and U.S. officials have landed in Cairo. Cease-fire talks are resuming, in hopes of ending the war in Gaza. The U.S. is pushing hard for a proposal that officials say would bridge the gaps between both sides. While the details are not public, it is well-known that one major sticking point is a small strip of land bordering Gaza's southernmost border with Egypt and who will control it. It's called the Philadelphi Corridor, and to understand more about it, we're joined by NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Hi, Hadeel.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So what is this corridor?
AL-SHALCHI: So it's a 100-yard piece of land that runs eight miles up and down the length of the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, and somewhere in the middle sits the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza, which, until May, was the only channel to the outside world in Gaza that wasn't controlled by Israel. The Philadelphi Corridor was actually long controlled by the Israelis, until their withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, and that's when they handed it over to Palestinian control. But then, at the end of this May, the Israeli military seized control of the corridor, saying that it needed to cut off smuggling of weapons and other military supplies through the tunnels from Egypt. And Israel says that if it doesn't control this corridor, then Hamas could potentially rebuild its military capacity.
FADEL: Now, this decision would definitely affect Egypt. What are they saying?
AL-SHALCHI: Absolutely. First, so Egypt says it's already destroyed many of these tunnels on its side of the border, and it is strongly against Israeli troops on the Gaza border, because it says it's a violation of a treaty that it has with Israel that's become a cornerstone of Middle East stability. They're also worried that the war would spill over into their territory, or a large number of Palestinians would cross the border, with no guarantee that they would be allowed back into Gaza. And, like you mentioned, the Philadelphi Corridor has become an issue that neither Hamas nor Israel want to compromise on in the cease-fire deal. Hamas wants a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the corridor, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is adamant that they have to stay.
FADEL: Say more about that. Why is Netanyahu so staunchly against withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, publicly, Netanyahu insists it's vital, that it's to protect Israeli security and to prevent Hamas, and other armed groups, from rebuilding their military capacity, like I said. But what's interesting is that Netanyahu's own security establishment has said that they've achieved what they needed to in Gaza, and they would actually be prepared to withdraw, and they've been pushing Netanyahu to accept the deal on the table. In May, Israeli defense minister said that the Israeli troops could withdraw from the corridor once a mechanism to stop smuggling is drafted.
FADEL: So is Netanyahu then concerned about his political future here?
AL-SHALCHI: Absolutely. So there are fears that Israeli troops remaining in the corridor may lead to Israeli reoccupation. And far-right factions, like Israel's finance and national security ministers, have made it no secret they want to resettle parts of Gaza, so they're threatening to topple Netanyahu's government if he agrees to a withdrawal, which would lead to elections, which would lead to the probable ousting of Netanyahu.
FADEL: And where do cease-fire talks stand?
AL-SHALCHI: There's been much back and forth, but the Biden administration confirmed that a U.S. envoy is in Cairo. Netanyahu's office also confirmed that the head of Mossad is in Cairo, but we're just going to have to wait and see what happens.
FADEL: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
