The Israeli TV, Channel 1, reported in Tuesday evening, that Israel has decided to evacuate from the Philadilphi Route, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, immediately after completing the Gaza withdrawal.
Channel 1 quoted Israeli officials stating that Israel hopes that evacuating from the Route will help in stopping violence, as the case in the evacuated Lebanese Shiba Farms, north of the country.
Also, Israeli officials said that the withdrawal from the Route will void “Palestinian claims†that the Gaza Strip will become a closed Ghetto after the Israeli withdrawal.
It is worth mentioning that the first group of Egyptian soldiers are expected to arrive to the Philadilphi Route area in the coming few weeks.
The Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that the remaining differences between Israel and Egypt regarding the deployment are related to the Israeli demands to take responsibility for the prevention of weapon smuggling between Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.
The Egyptians insisted that it share responsibility for the prevention of smuggling with Israel.
Also, Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, told the US Foreign Minister Condoleezza Rice, that Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry’s political-security division, will head to Cairo this week to finalize and Israeli-Egyptian meeting to deploy 750 armed Egyptian forces at the Route.
