Netanyahu: Planning for a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government’s plan for the day after the war includes establishing a buffer zone between the Gaza envelope and the Gaza Strip and controlling the Philadelphi (Salah Al-Din) axis between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted Netanyahu as saying in a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, “The Israeli plan for the day following the war includes establishing a buffer zone between the Gaza envelop and the Gaza Strip, and Israeli control over the Philadelphi axis between the Strip and Egypt.” There was no official comment from Cairo concerning this.

The Salah Al-Din or Philadelphi axis is the name of a narrow border area within the Gaza Strip. The axis extends 14 kilometres along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Netanyahu claimed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE would finance the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, but there has been no immediate comment from the two countries regarding these statements.

Turning his attention to the Palestinian Authority (PA), Netanyahu claimed it “wants to destroy Israel in stages.”

“The difference between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is that Hamas wants to annihilate us immediately, while the PA plans to implement this in stages.”

Netanyahu opposes the return of the PA to the Gaza Strip after the war.

The Palestinian Authority did not immediately comment on Netanyahu’s statements.

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