The Armed Forces of Israel withdrew on Sunday (9) from a strategic corridor that divides the Gaza Strip, leaving almost the entire north of the territory, as required by a fine ceasefire with Hamas. Withdrawal is essential for the advancement of new negotiations for a longer agreement.
The departure of the military from the Netzarim corridor occurred while the Israeli government sent a delegation to Qatar over the weekend to discuss the upcoming group of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released during the initial phase of the truce agreement, which came into force in the month past and remains in force.
In a statement yesterday, the Israeli military said the troops were “implementing the deal” to leave the corridor and allow hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to continue returning home in northern Gaza. Hamas also confirmed the departure of Israeli troops, stating in a statement that it was “a victory for the will of our people.”
With the withdrawal, the presence of Israeli troops in Gaza is now limited to a small strip of land in the south, near the border with Egypt, and a tampon along the Israeli border.
The Gaza Interior Ministry, controlled by Hamas, warned yesterday to Palestinians that they are returning that their vehicles could still be inspected by foreign security companies to prevent weapons from being transferred from the south.
“We ask citizens to be careful and fulfill the movement according to the mechanism currently allowed for their safety,” the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.
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The Israeli army ordered mass withdrawal from northern Gaza in the early days of the war and patrolled the corridor, in part to prevent the Palestinians from returning. The Israeli troops had already partially withdrawn from the Netzarim corridor last month, leaving foreign fighters to fill the void.
Agreement phases
The full withdrawal of the corridor was required for the first phase of 42 days of the ceasefire agreement-which is now halfway-and necessary to advance to the next step and fully end the war in Gaza.
Significant new traps to reach an agreement for the next phase – which could involve a complete Israeli military withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip – appeared last week after President Donald Trump said the US could take control of Gaza and Transform it into the “Rivera of the Middle East” by relocating its Palestinian residents.
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Negotiations on the second phase, which aim at the release of more hostages and the complete withdrawal of Israel de Gaza, should begin on February 3. But Israel and Hamas seem to have made little progress, even with Israeli forces retreating from a corridor.
Israel sent a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator in the negotiations between the parties, but the mission included low-ranking authorities, raising speculation that it will not lead to a breakthrough.
The chance of a longer lasting agreement is uncertain. Israel said it will not agree with a complete withdrawal of Gaza until Hamas’s military and policies are eliminated. Hamas, in turn, says it will not deliver the last hostages until Israel removes all troops.
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Hostage
The release scene of three Israeli hostages the day before, apparently thinner and pale, making statements of thanks to Hamas terrorist under threat of weapons, increased pressure on the Israeli government to extend the current phase of the agreement.
The remaining hostage families said time is running out, as some survivors described to be barefoot and chained.
“We can’t let the hostages stay there. There is no other way. I am appealing to the office, ”said Ella Ben Ami, daughter of a released hostage the day before yesterday, adding that now she understands that the situation of the captured is much worse than imagined.
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Trump’s plan
Meanwhile, Netanyahu, who was in the US, where he met Trump, praised the Republican’s controversial plan to remove the Palestinians from Gaza and said his country will do the work.
“I think President Trump’s proposal is the first new idea in years and has the potential to change everything in Gaza,” Netanyahu said in an interview on the day before yesterday on Fox News. “All Trump is saying is, ‘I want to open the gate and give them the option of moving temporarily while we physically rebuilt the place.’ Trump never said he wants American troops to do the job. Guess? We will do the job. ”
For the prime minister, the problem of the proposal is to find countries that agree to receive the Palestinian population of about 2 million people. The neighbors Egypt and Jordan have already rejected the idea. Netanyahu added that to be allowed to return, the Palestinians should “repudiate terrorism.”
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Trump’s proposal was announced alongside Netanyahu himself in Washington last week. The plan was widely criticized by both allies and US opponents and ethnic cleaning. For the Palestinian population, an attempt to remove them from Gaza evokes memories of what they call Nakba (a word in Arabic that means tragedy), as referred to forced displacement during the creation of Israel in 1948 (with international agencies) .
