Did you know that this exact scenario of what we are seeing today in the war in Gaza was predicted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza?

After resigning from then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s cabinet, Netanyahu slammed the planned withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor, mocking Egypt’s promise to prevent smuggling as “so clumsy that it’s tragic.”

Yes, Netanyahu’s warning about the consequences of Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza has proven eerily accurate. 

At the time, he strongly opposed the withdrawal, arguing that it would lead to increased terrorism and create a launching pad for attacks against Israel. Specifically, he was concerned about the Philadelphi Corridor, the narrow strip of land along the Egypt-Gaza border that was meant to prevent weapons smuggling.

After resigning from Ariel Sharon’s government in protest, Netanyahu mocked the idea that Egypt would effectively prevent Hamas and other terrorist groups from smuggling weapons into Gaza. 

And he was right—after Israel pulled out, the border became a major conduit for smuggling weapons, including rockets, into Gaza. Hamas took over the Strip in 2007, and ever since, Israel has faced an escalating security threat from the very area it once controlled.

The Philadelphi Corridor became a hub for tunnels used to import Iranian-funded weapons, explosives, and even military training from external actors like Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force. Netanyahu’s prediction that a withdrawal would lead to a security disaster has played out over the years, culminating in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack—one of the deadliest days in Israel’s history.

His warnings at the time were dismissed by many as alarmist, but in hindsight, they seem prescient. 

Now, as Israel debates its next moves in Gaza, the failure of the 2005 disengagement looms large in the discussion about the region’s future.