Channel 13’s Arab Affairs commentator Tzvi Yehezkeli addressed reports of an emerging hostage deal, saying that Hamas is starting to be forced to its knees and that Israel is close to victory.
In an interview for 103M radio, he said “Don’t forget that when we did the first deal, I said ‘bad but necessary deal.’ We have to do it, there was a 1:1 ratio and everyone said ‘the next deal will be 200:1. And Hamas did present it, demand it, it dropped. Then also the next deal, I don’t know what situation you’ll find Hamas in, but I can tell you that based on what’s happening in the field, Hamas is starting to lose assets. They are starting to get on their knees. Guys, we’re before a victory here, and the issue of the hostages is indeed an important issue – but don’t forget, we have the issue of burning the victory into the Gaza Strip. The Egyptians are already preparing for the border to be breached.”
Yehezkeli expressed his views about Mahmoud Dahlan being in charge of Gaza on the day after the war. “We know that Dahlan – his baby is the Gaza Strip. He has become the security adviser to the Emirates. That’s Dahlan. And he is know becoming incredibly rich, a man who sits on 6-7 billion while sitting there in the royal house, one of the few individuals who has access to the palace of the Emir of the Caliphates, is ready to take the Gaza Strip. Why not tell him yes? He comes with that backing,” he said.
“If Dahlan comes, there’s both good and bad to this. The good thing is that you have someone who’s willing to be the guy in charge and he’s Palestinian, and he has talk which is true – meaning he can be someone who can understand matters. The not good thing is that he is Palestinian, and I didn’t check if Dahlan really detached the Jihadist lobe from his dreams, and that’s my question. Like any western effort, you’re burned and only understand this after you try. Certainly after Hamas, this is progress. And this is one who also doesn’t have a problem opening fire on his people.”