Israel’s former spy boss blasts Netanyahu over Philadelphi Corridor
The former head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, Nadav Argaman, has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of misleading the country over the importance of maintaining control over the border area between Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
“There is no connection between the weaponry found in Gaza and the Philadelphi Corridor,” Argaman told Israel’s Channel 12 news in a wide-ranging interview. “The majority of smuggling into Gaza was through the Rafah border crossing. We know this unequivocally,” Argaman said.
“When Netanyahu speaks of remaining on the Philadelphi Corridor, he knows very well that no smuggling takes place over the Philadelphi Corridor. So we are now relegated to living with this imaginary figment,” he said.
“The entire thing is intended only to preserve this dangerous Messianic government.”
Argaman, who headed the Shin Bet between 2016 and 2021, also said that Israel “must stop the war in the Gaza Strip now, and move to a ceasefire”.
“We must go for an all-for-all exchange, to bring everyone back,” he said, adding that he was worried for Israel’s future as the country had been “hijacked by an extremist, radical government.”
Former Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman asserts that most of the weapons that came into Gaza were through the Rafah crossing and not underground tunnels between Egypt and Gaza. https://t.co/regEo2m0FE
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) September 7, 2024
Families of captives accuse Netanyahu of ‘torpedoing’ Gaza deal
Relatives of the Israeli captives are accusing Netanyahu of having “torpedoed the deal” with Hamas and calling for protesters to take to the streets for a new round of demonstrations.
“Anyone who continues to sabotage the deal for the return of the abductees is leading Israel to complete disintegration,” the group said in a post on X.
It also called on Israeli politicians to “not be complicit in their abandonment to death and the dismantling of Israeli society”.
Protests calling on Netanyahu’s government to sign a ceasefire and captives swap deal intensified after the army last week retrieved the bodies of six captives held in Gaza.
The prime minister responded to the news of their deaths by saying that “those who kill hostages do not want an agreement” for a Gaza truce.
True, Netanyahu has killed many hostages so far, and also assassinated the negotiator...
Israel intentially leaks scenes of Palestinian prisoners’ torture: Rights group
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says that efforts to undermine the resolve of prisoners by broadcasting torture scenes will not succeed.
“The leaking of these photos and videos is a deliberate act by the current settler government, headed by the fascist Minister [of National Security Ben-Gvir], with the aim of boasting about torturing prisoners,” the rights group said in a statement.
It said the practice was “part of the competition between the ministers of the current government over who tortures and kills Palestinians more”.
“The other goal … is to influence the image of the Palestinian prisoner in the collective consciousness …, in addition to using them as an additional tool for intimidation operations and spreading terror among Palestinian citizens …”
In August, a report by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said more than a dozen Israeli prison facilities have been converted into a network of camps “dedicated to the abuse of inmates” since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Calling for end of Gaza war ‘almost impossible’ for most Israelis
Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg has told Al Jazeera that while many view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as acting out of personal interest on the 11-month-long war, other Israeli Jewish politicians have yet to present an alternative.
“Despite the great dislike and distrust for Netanyahu personally and for his government … I see many Israelis who will be out on the streets protesting today as a necessity. The calling for an end to the war is an almost impossible task for most Israelis,” he said.
Moreover, Goldberg said the Netanyahu-led government was “worried” about the continuing protest demanding a deal to bring back the captives.
“I would assume the government is especially worried about the subtle, but constant shifting in the political tone. Just yesterday, we had the leader of the opposition Yair Lapid actually going on record and calling for an end to the war,” he said.
“This is the first time that I can remember an Israeli politician over the last year who has called for an end to the war, rather than just for a hostage deal.”
