In Cairo, Israel said to agree to scaling down IDF presence in Philadelphi Corridor

During mid-level talks among Israeli, Egyptian, and US officials in Cairo on Sunday, Israel agreed to gradually reduce the number of soldiers deployed on the Philadelphi Corridor, while in return Cairo agreed not to set a timetable for their complete withdrawal, according to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

Egyptian officials still insisted that a full withdrawal should be conducted as soon as possible, according to a source familiar with the talks quoted by Al-Akhbar. Egypt further asked the US negotiators to speed up the delivery of the equipment designated to secure the border route, and pledged to “work to ensure that there are no tunnels operating under it.”

Over the past months, Israeli and Egyptian negotiators have reportedly discussed installing a high-tech electronic surveillance system to prevent the smuggling of weapons through the border.

Sunday’s meeting in the Egyptian capital took place as high-level talks that were kicked off in Doha last week are expected to resume in Cairo this week, with the participation of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly not willing to relinquish the demand for an ongoing Israeli presence at the Philadelphi Corridor, even after his negotiating team returned from the Doha round of talks with the message “It’s either Philadelphi or a deal,” Channel 12 said yesterday.

Netanyahu reportedly said he was prepared to discuss how the troops would be deployed, but not to compromise on the fundamental imperative for them to be present.

The terror group Hamas officially rejected the US proposal discussed in Doha, as it insists on a full IDF withdrawal from the corridor.