JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has locked horns with Israeli ceasefire negotiators over his insistence that Israel will not pull out of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor in the south of the Gaza Strip, a person with knowledge of the talks said.
The Philadelphi Corridor, along the border with Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor cutting across the middle of the Gaza Strip, have been two of the main sticking points in talks backed by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that Israel will not give up control of the Philadelphi Corridor because it wants to prevent Hamas smuggling weapons and fighters across the border with Egypt. He has also said Israel must maintain checkpoints in the Netzarim Corridor to stop armed Hamas fighters moving from the southern section of the Gaza Strip into the north.
The person said Netanyahu had agreed to shift one Philadelphi position by a few hundred meters but would retain overall control of the corridor, despite pressure from members of his own negotiating team for more concessions.
“The prime minister insists that this situation will continue, contrary to pressure from certain elements in the negotiating team who are willing to withdraw from there,” said the person, who has close knowledge of the negotiations.
Israel’s Channel 12 television reported this week that Netanyahu had been bitterly critical of the negotiating team, led by David Barnea, the chief of the Mossad intelligence service, for being willing to make too many concessions.
More than 10 months after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war, the United States has been pressing Israel for an end to hostilities.
Hamas-led gunmen killed some 1,200 people and abducted around 250 hostages on Oct.7, according to Israeli tallies, while Israeli bombardments have laid waste to Gaza and killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the enclave.
Netanyahu has been under heavy pressure to reach a deal from families of some of the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza and many have been strongly critical of the failure to reach a deal, joining critics have accused him of hindering a deal for his own political purposes.
But with pressure from hard-liners in his own cabinet against any concessions, and with opinion polls indicating a pick-up in the disastrous ratings he had at the start of the war, the prime minister has said repeatedly he aims for total victory over Hamas.
Netanyahu in dispute with Israeli negotiators over ceasefire conditions, source says
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Netanyahu in dispute with Israeli negotiators over ceasefire conditions, source says
- Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that Israel will not give up control of the Philadelphi Corridor
- He has also said Israel must maintain checkpoints in the Netzarim Corridor
Sudan paramilitary advances near Ethiopia border
- Sudan’s Kordofan region, where the SPLM-N has its other foothold in the Nuba Mountains, is currently the war’s fiercest battleground
KHARTOUM: Sudanese paramilitary forces have advanced on army positions near the southeastern border with Ethiopia, according to the group and an eyewitness who spoke to AFP Wednesday.
Control over Sudan’s southeastern Blue Nile State, bordering both Ethiopia and South Sudan, is split between the army and a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, allies of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
In a statement released Tuesday, the SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu, said they had “liberated the strategic city of Deim Mansour and areas of Bashir Nuqu and Khor Al-Budi.”
Since April 2023, the Sudanese army has been at war with the RSF. In February of last year, the RSF announced a surprise alliance with the SPLM-N, securing experienced fighters, land and border access.
Deim Mansour lies between the SPLM-N stronghold Yabus, birthplace of their deputy commander Joseph Tuka, and the army-held town of Kurmuk, which hosts a large army contingent.
Babiker Khaled, who fled to Kurmuk, told AFP that SPLM-N fighters began amassing in the forests around Deim Mansour on Sunday.
“The shelling began on Monday, they entered the city on Tuesday,” he said, adding that “some people fled into Ethiopia, others arrived in Kurmuk.”
From its foothold in the southern Blue Nile, a thin strip of land jutting south between Ethiopia and South Sudan, the SPLM-N maintains reported supply lines from both countries, building on decades-old links.
Close to three years of war in Sudan have left tens of thousands dead and around 11 million displaced, creating the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
It has also torn the country apart, with the army holding the center, north and east of Sudan while the RSF and its allies dominate the west and parts of the south.
Sudan’s Kordofan region, where the SPLM-N has its other foothold in the Nuba Mountains, is currently the war’s fiercest battleground.
On Tuesday, the army broke a paramilitary siege on South Kordofan state capital Kadugli, days after breaking another on the nearby city of Dilling.
