Tel Aviv [Israel], September 3: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited an Israeli military base in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that Israel would retain control of around 60% of the territory.
"We are not withdrawing," he stated in a video message recorded on site on Wednesday and released by his office. The US-led peace plan provides for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area once the Palestinian organisation Hamas has been disarmed.
The Israeli army has recently expanded its control over the coastal strip from 53% to around 60%. Netanyahu went on to say that the Israeli military would maintain this line. He left open whether this would also apply should Hamas hand over its weapons. In August, he had held out the prospect of an Israeli withdrawal in that event. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune