Knowing What The Philadelphia Corridor Is, The Buffer Zone That Is A Strategic Area For Hamas

Illustration of Israeli soldiers controlling the Philadelphia Corridor (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

YOGYAKARTA In this article it will be discussed what the Philadelphia Corridor is, an area on the Gaza-Egypt border which is currently being quasi-based by Israeli soldiers.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of December stated that his party must control the Philadelphia corridor, because the area is a strategic area for Hamas.

At that time, Netanyahu said that the Philadelphia Corridor buffer zone that stretches across the border of Gaza and Egypt must be closed.

"It must be closed. It is clear that any other arrangement will not guarantee the demilitarization we want," Netanyahu said, citing Reuters.

So, what is Philadelphia Corridor? Let's look at the full information below.

Compiled from various sources, Thursday, May 30, 2024, the Philadelphia Corridor is a narrow 14-kilometer path. This route is located on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, precisely in the city of Rafah.

Philadelphia Corridor was originally built as a buffer zone controlled and supervised by Israeli military forces as part of an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in 1979. The agreement ended Israel's occupation of the Sinai Peninsula and reopened the Suez Canal.

This corridor was built with the aim of stopping weapons and materials from entering the Gaza region and falling into the hands of the Palestinians there.

In addition, Philadelphia Corridor is also intended to prevent the movement of Gazans, whose territory was then occupied by Israel, to Egypt.

Philadelphia Corridor is often used as a focus point in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because it is considered important for security and trade.

This route is under Israeli control until a unilateral withdrawal of the country's troops from the Gaza Strip in 2004.

After Israeli soldiers withdrew, in 2005 Egypt became the main player in control of this corridor. At the same time, Cairo deployed a contingent consisting of 750 Egyptian border guards along the Egyptian side of the buffer zone.

The border guard was the first Egyptian soldier to patrol the region since the 1967 war, when the Gaza Strip was quated by Israel along with the Sinai Peninsula, which was later returned to Egypt under the Camp David Agreement in 2005.

The Egyptian-Israeli agreement is very detailed about the placement of Egyptian military equipment on the Philadelphia route. Egyptian authorities placed eight helicopters, 30 light armored vehicles, and four coast patrol vessels.

Troops are tasked with guarding corridors on the Egyptian side to fight terrorism and prevent smuggling and inflation in Israel's unquated Gaza region.

On the other hand of the corridor, the Palestinian Authority's security forces took control of Israel. However, two years later, the Palestinian Authority lost control of the Philadelphia Corridor when they were expelled from Gaza following the 2007 conflict between Fatah and its rival fighter Hamas.

Since the Philadelphia Corridor was controlled by Hamas, Israel carried out land, air and sea blockades, as well as embargoes on the Palestinian Bag area.

These restrictions encourage the development of a smuggling tunnel system in the Philadelphia Corridor, allowing goods and people to cross the border.

Since then, the Egyptian-occupied Rafah Terminal, which has become a transit route for people, goods and humanitarian aid, has only been opened at any time.

On the other hand, Israel sees Philadelphia's path as an important supply area for Hamas.

That's the information about what the Philadelphia Corridor is. Get news updates of other options only on VOI.ID.