Mr. Efraim Halevy was the head of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency in the period 1998-2002. IT photo
In an interview with The Times, Efraim Halevy, who led Israel’s foreign intelligence agency from 1998 to 2002, said Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar was “holding the cards” and that’s why. Why does he refuse ceasefire agreements?
“He holds the cards, the hostages, but that’s not enough – I think he also holds the survival of Hamas’ forces to some extent. And we are suffering losses, all of which are very painful,” Mr. Halevy declared.
Halevy said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to bring Hamas to its knees with a “stormy victory”.
“When it all started, Netanyahu said we would chase Hamas to the ends of the world. Now, he will not repeat this statement again,” Mr. Halevy emphasized, warning Israel not to reoccupy Gaza.
“The occupation must be limited. We have enough on hand on the West Coast. I think the formula for the West Bank that he (Netanyahu) has should not be the formula for anywhere,” Mr. Halevy declared, saying he supported the “formula” of autonomy in Gaza.
The Israeli army yesterday admitted that 9 more soldiers were killed in Gaza, one of the largest deaths in 24 hours in the war, bringing total Israeli losses in the area to 187. This bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since October 7 to 560 soldiers.
Facing the risk of all-out war with Hezbollah, Mr. Halevy commented that the US will help prevent this from happening.
“We want to somehow negotiate indirectly with the Iranians (who back Hezbollah) about what will happen in the north. I think Iran currently does not want a war with Israel, because they believe and know that if they go to war with Israel, they have to face the possibility of war with the United States,” Mr. Halevy said.
