RABAT, April 4. /TASS/. Israel is seeking to divide Gaza by taking measures to establish control over the Morag axis inside the enclave, the Palestinian government said in a statement released in Ramallah on Thursday.
The cabinet strongly condemned the "brutal escalation of Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip," the WAFA news agency reported.
"The control of the Israeli occupation forces over the so-called Morag axis and cutting off the city of Rafah from the city of Khan Younis is nothing but a criminal scheme aimed at consolidating the occupation and a fragmentation of the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
According to the cabinet, Israel's actions constitute a "blatant disregard and gross violation of international law, which clearly affirms that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine."
On April 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is seizing control of the Morag axis to make it a second Philadelphi Corridor, which is a 15-kilometer long buffer area along the border between Gaza and Egypt.
The Morag axis runs from east to west across southern Gaza, between Rafah and Khan Younis. The name Morag refers to a former Israeli settlement that was dismantled in 2005.