Israel says it is nearing agreement with Egypt on Rafah, Philadelphia Corridor

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Tel Aviv and Cairo are nearing deals about the city of Rafah and the Philadelphia Corridor along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, Israeli Army Radio reported Thursday.

''Israel has committed to Egypt not to operate in the Rafah City south of the Strip until allowing the 1 million people there to evacuate the area,'' it said. ''This aims to reduce the waves of Palestinian refugees flowing from Gaza into Egyptian territory, which is of paramount concern to Cairo.”

There has been no comment from Egypt on the report.

Tel Aviv has not yet decided where to relocate Palestinians, but there are two options: ''Evacuating them to the northern Gaza Strip, which requires a political decision, or Khan Younis when the army finishes its operation there,'' said the radio.

"Israel will have a certain influence on events along the corridor, but without a permanent presence of Israeli forces,'' it added.

“Israeli Shin Bet security agency director Ronen Bar visited Cairo and met his Egyptian counterpart, Abbas Kamel, on Monday amid tensions between Israel and Egypt about the war in Gaza and the possibility of the Israeli military expanding operation to the Palestinian city of Rafah on the border with Egypt,” US Axios news reported, citing two Israeli sources.

The Philadelphia Corridor is a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) narrow strip of land that serves as a buffer zone on the Egypt-Gaza border, as guaranteed by the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty of 1979.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said several times that the Philadelphia Corridor area must be under Israel's control -- a move if implemented, would separate Gaza and Egypt.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio