Shin Bet refused Netanyahu request to hold meeting at Philadelphi Corridor: report

Israel's Shin Bet security service has refused a request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold a security cabinet meeting at the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, according to a report on Wednesday.

The Philadelphi Corridor (also known as the Salah al-Din Corridor), currently occupied by Israel, has become a key stumbling block in ceasefire negotiations, with Egypt and Hamas refusing to accept a continued Israeli military presence in the area.

According to Israel's Channel 12, Netanyahu asked Shin Bet head Ronen Bar whether cabinet members could travel to the area in armoured personnel carriers.

The Israeli leader is believed to have wanted to stage the meeting in the area to convince the cabinet that a military occupation must continue.

Bar reportedly refused the request over the level of security required to enable such a meeting to take place.

The Shin Bet agency has not confirmed the report, saying in a statement to the Times of Israel that it does not comment on "security arrangements and dialogue between the head of the Shin Bet and the political echelon".

Netanyahu has insisted that Israel maintain control of the Philadelphi Corridor to prevent future attacks on Israel and the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.

Tel Aviv has alleged that active tunnels remain under the Egypt-Gaza border — a charge that Cairo has denied.

Last week, US President Joe Biden reportedly asked Netanyahu in a call to move troops back from Gaza's border with Egypt as part of an initial phase of a ceasefire deal so that talks could continue.

The Philadelphi Corridor is a narrow 14-kilometre strip of land covering the entire border between Egypt and Gaza. Until May, Egypt had exercised full control over the axis and Israeli troops were prohibited from the zone. 

Israel seized control of the corridor in May, as well as the Rafah crossing - Gaza's only exit to the outside world.

By taking control of the corridor and Rafah Crossing, Israel violated the decades-long peace treaty with Egypt, further straining relations with Cairo.