Israel: former minister slams Egypt for opposition to army operations in Philadelphi Corridor

Israel’s former Foreign Minister and head of the extreme right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, Avigdor Lieberman, has slammed Egypt over its opposition to the Israeli army conducting military operations against Palestinian resistance fighters in the Philadelphi Corridor near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, the Hebrew channel i24NEWS has reported.

“Israel must [conduct the military operations] … only in order to guarantee its security interests, and if Egypt decides to break the rules, Israel must take steps in a manner commensurate with that,” said Lieberman on X. He pointed out how much Israel has helped Egypt over the years, including the Israeli military operations against ISIS/Daesh in Sinai in support of the Egyptian army. “Over the years, Israel has always stood by Egypt, helping it all the time and in every place.”

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The former minister added: “When Egypt asked to increase the size of its forces in Sinai due to the security challenges it faces, and although this violates the Camp David Accords, Israel responded to the request. We were also asked to help at the Capitol in Washington, and we did not hesitate for a moment.”

At a time when Israel is struggling for its security [sic], Egypt opposes the Israeli army activity in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor, said Lieberman. “In addition, Egypt has not taken major steps to prevent the many smuggling operations above and below the Philadelphi Corridor.”

He claimed that Israel must stop being the “weak state in the region”, and must stop submitting to its neighbours, Egypt and Jordan. He didn’t provide any examples of either claim.

Last week, Diaa Rashwan, the director of the government media office in Egypt, said that any Israeli move to occupy the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Egypt and Gaza would lead to a serious threat to relations between the two sides.

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