Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday that he was prioritizing his stance of maintaining Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor over saving the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
The stance was shared during a heated security cabinet meeting Thursday night during which the premier had the top ministerial body vote to approve a series of maps drawn up by the IDF, which show how Israel aims to keep its troops deployed in the nine-mile narrow stretch known as the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase of the hostage-ceasefire being negotiated.
It was the latest evidence of the divide between Netanyahu and the security establishment. Gallant and the security chiefs have repeatedly pushed Netanyahu for more compromise in the negotiations, particularly regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, fearing that the premier’s hardline positions are scuttling a deal.
Fossil
Article URL : https://www.timesofisrael.com/asked-to-decide-between-hostages-or-philadelphi-netanyahu-said-to-prefer-latter/