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Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-815761
The Philadelphi Corridor Is Crucial for Israel's Security
(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - Evacuating the Philadelphi Corridor or relying on the Egyptians or technological solutions to prevent its use as a superhighway for smuggling weapons into Gaza would be a colossal mistake, a mistake the country has already committed once. Prime Minister Netanyahu is correct to define this as a red line. In 2005, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon overruled some members of the security establishment who argued that, despite Israel's full withdrawal from Gaza, it should hold on to the corridor to prevent the smuggling of arms and terrorists. Sharon's decision has proven disastrous. Through the Philadelphi Corridor, Hamas turned Gaza into an armed stronghold with an arsenal of weapons that would make a small NATO country blush. Reliance on Egypt to prevent smuggling, depending on poorly paid and unmotivated Egyptian soldiers who could be bribed, was a tragic mistake. And it did not prevent the international community from saying that Israel continues to "occupy" Gaza. Now that Israel has retaken the area, it will vacate it again at its own peril.