Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon has strongly criticized the proposed ceasefire-prisoner swap deal, labeling it as "the worst deal" Israel could agree to.
Speaking in an interview with 103 FM Radio, Ramon warned, "The deal proposed today is the worst of all worlds. In practice, we will be ending the war. Anyone who believes that after 42 days we can simply restart the war with the press of a button is gravely mistaken. People will return to the Gaza border area and to the north, making it extremely difficult to continue the conflict."
Ramon further elaborated on his concerns, stating, "Given this situation, and with only 20 living hostages returned instead of the full number, there's no way that Hamas and its leader, Yahya Sinwar, will follow through with the second part of the agreement."
"What needs to be offered to Sinwar is to end the war on condition that all the hostages are returned, with all of the heavy prices, with the Philadelphi [Corridor]. All at once, they all come back. If they all come back, that has a value which it is hard to imagine from the perspective of Israeli society, from the perspective of how how we will feel, and the lowly murderers? Their day will come. But all of them need to be returned, with all the enormous significance. If Sinwar says no, it only proves that he does not want to release them all."