Israel Wants to Build Wall Between Egypt, Gaza to Hinder Hamas Tunnels-Digging - Reports
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Israel insists on building a wall near the Philadelphia Corridor on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt to prevent Palestinian movement Hamas from building tunnels, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Arab mediators in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Israel also wants access to data from cameras and sensors monitoring the area, the newspaper said.
A senior Egyptian official told the publication that Cairo was in favor of a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the corridor and the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. An Israeli technical team has completed meetings with its counterparts in Cairo to discuss the corridor and Rafah, but without much progress, according to Arab mediators.
Last Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he was continuing to work to advance a Gaza deal that would maximize the number of hostages released and insist that the Israeli army remain in the corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Israel closed the Rafah Crossing in December, it has not been opened since.
Gaza ceasefire talks were held in Doha last week involving Qatar, Egypt, the United States and Israel. Hamas leadership refused to participate in the talks due to a lack of specifics on the terms of the truce.
A joint statement by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, released by the office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, said the mediators had presented Israel and Hamas with a ceasefire proposal that narrowed the differences between the parties. The talks, which took place in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday and Friday, were serious and constructive and took place in a positive atmosphere, the statement said. Senior government officials from Egypt, the United States and Qatar will meet in Cairo soon in the hope of reaching an agreement in line with the terms proposed on Friday.
