Netanyahu hasn't cared about Philadelphi Corridor for 16 years - opinion

Sometimes, even for seasoned Israelis, it’s hard to keep up with the pace of unrelenting events in this country.

Take last week, for example. On Sunday, Israel teetered on the edge of a full-scale regional war. The Air Force launched a preemptive strike against thousands of rockets in Lebanon, a move that looked like – at least in those initial hours – as capable of sparking a wider conflict.

But when war didn’t break out, the nation let out a sigh of relief, grateful for the narrow escape. Fast forward to this Sunday, and the collective relief was brutally replaced by profound grief: the bodies of six hostages were discovered in a dark Hamas dungeon deep within the Gaza Strip. It was a moment of unbearable tragedy, one that pierced the hearts of every Israeli who had prayed, hoped, and yearned for these captives to return home alive. It was, many said, the worst day for Israel since October 7.

This relentless swing – from a narrow escape one week to gut-wrenching tragedy the next – has been the emotional reality for Israelis since the horrifying Hamas attack nearly a year ago. On one hand, October 7 marked the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust; on the other hand, it sparked a national unity not seen in years, as Israelis rallied together to save lives, heal wounds, and attempt to rebuild a scarred nation.

The stories of grief have been almost too much to bear, but they’ve been balanced to some extent by stories of incredible courage, sacrifice, and selflessness. These tales have become a kind of moral lighthouse, shining through the darkness and illuminating a potential path forward, even though they will never erase the pain of loss.

That sense of hope was shaken again on Monday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after months of silence, finally addressed the nation. For the first time since October 7, he laid out his war strategy. The problem, though, was that his speech was riddled with half-truths, deflections, and a disturbing lack of accountability.

Netanyahu pointed to the disengagement from Gaza in 2005, claiming that it was the root cause of the current conflict. Armed with a pointer and a large map, he explained how Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza had empowered Hamas to grow into the formidable force it is today, armed with advanced weaponry from Iran and capable of wreaking havoc on the Jewish state.

In his view, Israel’s future survival now hinges on the 14-kilometer strip known as the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow piece of land separating Gaza from Egypt. Netanyahu warned that if Israel doesn’t maintain a military presence there, the nation’s very existence will be at risk.

BUT THIS is pure gaslighting. Netanyahu’s attempt to shift blame for the October 7 massacre onto the 2005 Gaza disengagement – and by extension, Ariel Sharon, who fell into a coma in January 2006 – is deeply misleading.

What he conveniently left out is his role in that decision. For years, Netanyahu has claimed to have opposed the disengagement, but the truth is more complicated. At the time, he was Israel’s finance minister, and he voted three times in favor of the plan – once in the cabinet and twice in the Knesset. It’s true that he eventually resigned from the government just days before the disengagement was implemented, but this last-minute maneuver cannot erase his earlier support.

To now lay the blame at Sharon’s feet, ignoring the fact that Netanyahu has been prime minister for almost 16 years since then, is disingenuous at best – and dangerous at worst. It illustrates a refusal to take responsibility for the policies he personally shaped over the better part of two decades.

During his long tenure, Netanyahu has overseen Israel’s approach to Gaza, which has been defined by a strategy of containment rather than victory. Under his leadership, the IDF launched three major operations against Hamas – Pillar of Defense in 2012, Protective Edge in 2014, and Guardian of the Walls in 2021 – but in none of them did Netanyahu prioritize the Philadelphi Corridor, the so-called “oxygen pipeline” that feeds Hamas’s smuggling network. If this narrow strip of land is so critical to Israel’s survival, why wasn’t it dealt with during any of these operations?

This inaction allowed Hamas to build up the confidence to launch the October 7 attack. Netanyahu’s failure to act on the Philadelphi Corridor over the last decade directly contributed to the attacks. Even the right-wing website Kippa dug through Netanyahu’s tweets over the past 10 years and found that he only mentioned the Philadelphi Corridor twice and that both times were in the past week.

For nearly 16 years, Netanyahu has been at the helm, and the buck stops with him. No one else.

That said, Netanyahu’s warnings about the future aren’t entirely wrong. If the Philadelphi Corridor remains unchecked, Hamas will rebuild, rearm, and eventually pose a renewed threat to Israel.

But the immediate issue at hand is not about future risks – it’s about the present reality. Israel is facing a choice between securing the release of hostages held by Hamas and focusing on long-term vague military objectives. Netanyahu and his government appear to have prioritized the latter. On Thursday night, when the cabinet voted to maintain a military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor over advancing negotiations for a hostage deal, they didn’t know that six captives would be executed just hours later. But that’s exactly what happened.

Hersh, Carmel, Eden, Alex, Ori, and Almog – six Israelis who had managed to survive nearly 11 months of brutal captivity – were murdered after the government chose to reduce the priority of their safe return. Israel didn’t pull the trigger. That was done by Hamas. But the government’s decision to place their release lower down on its list of priorities undoubtedly contributed to this tragic outcome.

For a nation that has always prided itself on leaving no one behind, this is hard to accept. The murder of the six hostages is not a reminder just of Hamas’s cruelty but also a testament to the failures of Israel’s leadership.

It’s time for the government to take responsibility and recognize the direct link between its decisions and the fate of its people. The Philadelphi Corridor may be a strategic necessity, but the lives of Israeli hostages should not have been sacrificed in its name.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) and a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.