Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two Iranian-backed Palestinian terror groups in Gaza, formally responded Tuesday to the U.S. ceasefire proposal, demanding several changes, including control of the border between Gaza and Egypt.
President Joe Biden presented a three-stage plan on May 30 that failed to call for Hamas to disarm and leave power. He claimed, falsely, that the plan was Israel’s idea. The State Department admitted that the plan was, in fact, nearly identical to Hamas’s demands, not Israel’s.
Israel went along with the plan, with the proviso that it would not give up its fundamental goal of destroying Hamas, which launched an unprovoked terror attack against Israel on October 7.
The U.S. translated the plan into a non-binding United Nations Security Council resolution that passed on Monday. And on Wednesday, Hamas submitted a response to Qatari and Egyptian mediators, calling for more negotiations.
Axios reported:
Hamas has given Qatari and Egyptian mediators its official response to the Israeli proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal, according to two sources with knowledge of the issue.
…
Hamas’ response included a comment regarding the description of the ceasefire and a demand for the withdrawal Israeli forces from the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi corridor between Egypt and Gaza.
The Philadelphi corridor is the road that runs along the Egyptian border with Gaza on the Gazan side. It has been a major smuggling route for Hamas, allowing it to move weapons and goods into the Gaza Strip from the Sinai desert.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recently took control of the entire Philadelphi corridor, destroying dozens of terror tunnels and rocket launchers that were placed out in the open. The IDF also revealed an overpass that allowed Hamas to move goods across the border with Egypt, without checks by Egyptian or international authorities.
Control of the border would allow Hamas to re-arm. Demanding the Philadelphi corridor is therefore a likely non-starter for Israel.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
