Hebrew Newspaper: A series of lies, and it is possible to negotiate with Hamas

By Ben Caspit

Contrary to the impression that arose yesterday after the Prime Minister’s Office published the “Mossad statement” on the communications regarding the kidnapped deal, there is no consensus in the war cabinet regarding the communications of the kidnapped deal. More than that, yesterday, inside the cabinet, there was a direct, unprecedented, and clear attack on the Mossad’s statement regarding spreading the narrative that says, “Hamas does not want a deal before Ramadan, and has not responded to the Paris plan, so there is nothing to talk about.” about him."

These sharp criticisms came not only from more than one member of the war cabinet, but also from the professional level. The assessment is that the head of the Shin Bet and the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army believe that the door has not been closed, and that there is still room for negotiations and the putting forward of innovative ideas within their framework. This is what Major General Nitzan Ayalon and other parties in the security establishment also believe.

Yesterday, a source familiar with the negotiations told me: “There is a series of lies. The families of the kidnapped are being harmed, and they lie all the time, presenting a distorted picture.” I asked him what this true picture was, and he replied: “He presented a plan for a deal to free the kidnapped in Paris.” The delegation returned to Israel, and it was agreed with the Prime Minister to wait for Hamas’ response. 

Meanwhile, the Americans and other mediators presented a plan with improvements. Israel’s response was that it could not agree to Plan No. 2 before it obtained Hamas’ answer to Plan No. 1. This means that Israel said ‘No.’ After that, the mediators went and presented the plan to Hamas, which sent a delegation last Sunday to Cairo, and it remained there until Thursday, and brought with it a response to all the matters raised. In the plan. Meanwhile, the head of the CIA arrived in Israel, met with David Barnea, and this is where the lies began.”

Based on a source I spoke to, there are gaps between the positions of the two parties, but there is certainly room for negotiation and the use of innovative methods in order to make it successful. In any case, and contrary to the “Mossad statement,” which means that Netanyahu, Gantz, and Gallant have a unified position on the negotiations, the picture of reality is different. There are quite a few members in the war cabinet who believe that there is room for negotiations, and that Hamas did not close the door, but rather Israel specifically did that. There is also a similar opinion among high-level professional officials from outside the Mossad.