Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors: Key Obstacles in Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Negotiations

A report by Ahmad Abdallah, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine

Two vital corridors may not see progress in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas: the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor.

Israel seeks to retain security control over both, citing the need to ensure its security on one hand and to prevent the renewed smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip on the other. Meanwhile, Hamas insists that the Israeli occupation forces withdraw from these corridors in order for negotiations to move forward. So, what is the story behind these two corridors?

The Philadelphi Corridor runs along the border between Gaza and Egypt and stretches for 14 kilometers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views it as essential to preventing the smuggling of weapons through tunnels from Egypt to Gaza, thereby ensuring that Hamas does not rearm itself.

Hamas has used this network of tunnels beneath the corridor to smuggle weapons, enabling it to launch the attack that sparked the war last October.

The Netzarim Corridor, which is six kilometers long, separates northern Gaza from southern Gaza. Israel justifies its hold on this corridor by claiming it is necessary to prevent Hamas fighters and other factions from returning to northern areas, which are close to vital Israeli towns and cities such as Ashkelon and Ashdod.

Hamas firmly rejects any permanent Israeli presence in Gaza, equating it with a renewed military occupation. Egypt, the primary mediator in the negotiations, also opposes any Israeli presence on its border with Gaza, seeing it as a threat to the 1979 peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel.

Israel's insistence on retaining control of these corridors threatens to derail the ceasefire negotiations.

Israel controlled the Philadelphi Corridor following the signing of the peace treaty but withdrew from it in 2005 after evacuating Jewish settlers from Gaza as part of the disengagement plan. As for the Netzarim Corridor, Israeli forces once controlled it but later withdrew, leaving it to the Palestinian Authority.

The issue of control over these two corridors remains one of the most sensitive topics in the current negotiations. Will the parties be able to reach a solution that guarantees Israel's security while also addressing the Palestinian demand to end the occupation?