Lt. Col. (res.) Amit Yagur, former deputy head of the Palestinian arena and senior officer in Navy intelligence, spoke this morning (Wednesday) with Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on 103FM and analyzed the intentions of US President-elect Donald Trump, who promised that Hamas would go to hell if it did not release the hostages.
""Why interpret? The word is enough and it already does the job," said Yegor about Trump's promise. "My understanding is that he has two options on the table. The first is a significant reduction in humanitarian aid, and that's the direction I think. The second option is for the Americans to have 'boots on the ground' in the Gaza Strip, which would make the US a direct party in this matter, and the US is not being told no.".
He added: "I look at the Philadelphia axis for example, things like that or American security companies that employ former mercenaries. Anything that concerns humanitarian aid and thwarts Hamas' ability to make a living is indeed hell for them, absolutely.".
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""I don't know what's going through Trump's mind exactly, but I guess Trump is starting to get pretty knowledgeable, and I think ambiguity is a good thing. It's a good stick, and it's starting to work.".
Regarding the continuation of the war, he said: "It makes it very difficult for the IDF and the people, but on the other hand, when I look with strategic eyes at the new order that has been created here, the departure of any of the sectors will very quickly restore the old order, and only our presence on the ground prevents this. The war has to end at some point, but unfortunately after 15 months we have not completed the mission. We have created conditions, the continuation of the mission should be a combination of military and political.".
Why not end the war and renew it if necessary?
""This question can also be asked about southern Lebanon. It's an approach we've tried for many years, and I'm talking about human nature. When you're in a war of no choice, you normalize the war and give it legitimacy. When you come out of the war, it already becomes 'there is a choice' and considerations of public legitimacy that wants peace enter into it. Fighting from the outside won't happen.
""The war has many sides. It could have been conducted in a series of parallel efforts. We talked about the military level, but there is an economic, political level, and there is a legal level. I didn't just talk about government capacity, that's the cornerstone. Even in the arrangement with Hezbollah, we didn't ask the Lebanese government to confiscate Hezbollah's money in the banks.
""I don't want to determine who will control, I want to put civilian restrictions on the reconstruction. When I know that there is a multinational enforcement body overseeing this matter with Israeli involvement, I may withdraw the military forces.".
