‘Netanyahu using Philadelphi Corridor as a pretext to avoid ceasefire deal’
Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas says Netanyahu is using the Philadelphi Corridor as a “pretext” to avoid a ceasefire deal.
“A host of Israeli generals who know the area and terrain, as well as the risks, have been saying that Mr Netanyahu has been mendacious about the Philadelphi Corridor, that this is not a major deal,” Pinkas, chief of staff under then-PM Ehud Barak, told Al Jazeera.
He said Israel is expecting Blinken to propose a new US plan for a deal in which it maintains only a “temporary control” of the corridor located between Gaza and Egypt.
“But again, the Philadelphi Corridor is a distraction,” he added.
Blinken is due back in the region this week to try to revive stalled ceasefire talks to end the 11-month-old war that has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians.
Efforts to reach Gaza truce continue, Qatar says
Months of behind-the-scenes negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US have failed to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking to reporters, Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said the mediators’ efforts “are still ongoing”. “Channels of communication remain open. … The goals and visits and meetings are ongoing,” he said.
Al-Ansari declined to comment on whether any further proposal had been relayed to Israel or Hamas.
“When it comes to the possibility of a deal taking place anytime soon, of course, we remain hopeful at every juncture,” he said. “I can’t comment on the prospects of a deal taking place right now, but I can tell you that we remain hopeful and we continue with our efforts.”
‘No northern Israel resident returning home after explosions’
Amir Oren, a columnist focusing on military and government affairs at the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, says “not one Israeli hostage” and “not one Israeli resident is going back home in the north after the exploding pagers”.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from West Jerusalem, he said: “What Israel should have done – and many in the Israeli defence establishment have recommended – is to get a ceasefire in Gaza, which will bring about the ceasefire in the north and then let diplomacy take effect.”
Oren said he hoped the explosions in Lebanon will be “a substitute for a ground manoeuvre” and “not a precursor”, noting that it is in Israel’s interests “to get the war over both in Gaza and in Lebanon”.
But he added: “Netanyahu for his personal, political and even judicial reasons – he is, of course, standing trial for bribery and other offences and is supposed to testify in his own defence come December 2 – would like to prolong the war and probably to broaden it.
“Whether he has the power within the cabinet, within the Israeli political system, to do it, I doubt it. He has veto power over others, but up to now, he has not managed to provoke anything in regards to Hezbollah where he can later leapfrog from there to Iran. President Biden has been adamant not to let him do it for very good reasons of American national interest.”
“So there is a delicate balance with Netanyahu and others in the Israeli decision-making elite. Hopefully, he will not prevail.”
‘Prospect that Israel wants escalation higher now’
Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, says the pager explosions are “definitely” a step “towards broader escalation”. Speaking to Al Jazeera from London, he added that it was important to place the incident into the wider regional context.
“Last week, there was a major attack by the Israelis on Syria that resulted in 18 deaths, and the Houthis claimed to have fired a hypersonic missile at Israel,” he noted. “So there are escalations going on beyond Lebanon and to all the theatres of the ‘axis of resistance’ at once.”
Ramani argued that up until now, neither Israel nor Hezbollah “really wanted a situation where there’s been a major two-front war developing.
“But I think the Israelis are now sensing that this might be a historic capability to decapitate Hezbollah’s capabilities as the war in Gaza eventually winds down and they might be taking a step towards a broader escalation,” he added.
“So the jury is still out on what they really want, but I think the prospect that Israel wants escalation is higher now than it was earlier.”
