Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer gave an interview to the popular podcast 'Call Me Back' by American journalist Dan Sinor. In the two parts of the interview, which were published on Tuesday and yesterday, the minister addressed a variety of issues, including negotiations with Hamas, the attack on Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and more.
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The host discussed with the minister the question - why Israel does not stop the fighting, return all the hostages and return to fighting Hamas later - on the assumption that the terrorist organization will violate any agreement signed with it.
Seeger said: "There are many who say - return the kidnapped ones already, end the war, there will be a ceasefire, Hamas will violate it and Israel will have the opportunity to return and eliminate Hamas.".
Minister Dermer explained, in response, what the reality would look like in such a situation - and how much it would challenge Israel.
Dermer: "What will be the opportunity? In what way will they violate the ceasefire? Let's assume they don't fire rockets but 'just' take advantage of the fact that there is no army in Gaza, because that is their demand for an end to the war - in order to rearm.".
""So you're telling me we'll catch them smuggling weapons once and then mobilize all the Israeli reserve forces to eliminate Hamas because of it - and the international community will just accept it?""
He reminded the cigar host what the international response was to Hamas' murderous attack.
""Let's think about what happened on October 7th. One thousand two hundred Jews were murdered, people's heads were beheaded, babies were burned, women were raped. Where was the international community after October 7th when the hostages were all in Gaza? How much support did we receive and how long did it last? Two weeks? Three? Four?
""So now you assume that you'll just leave Gaza, leave all the soldiers out, and then at some point there will be a small breach, because it won't happen in one day, and if they're smart they won't launch a missile for five years, to rebuild their capabilities. When we go back there, will we have to start from scratch? If we lose two hundred or 400 soldiers there again, does that sound reasonable? Understand that this is the kind of decision a prime minister has to make.".
Dermer clarified: "Everyone in Israel wants to end the war, but the question is whether it ends with our victory or Hamas's. My advantage is that I was not elected to the Knesset, so I don't care about polls. I believe in the goals we presented at the beginning of the war: disarming Hamas, ending Hamas' control of the Gaza Strip, ensuring that Gaza will not pose a threat to Israel, and in addition, returning the hostages.".
Dermer added and analyzed: "Hamas is an ideology, but an idea in itself is not the same as control of the country. What allows Hamas to implement the ideology is control of the Strip. Therefore, as was done with ISIS, taking control of the territory from Hamas weakens the threat it poses to us.
""The question is how do you end Hamas' political rule and disarm it," Dermer continued. "Killing every terrorist in Gaza would require us to take control of the entire Strip and remain there indefinitely. That is not the goal.
""Hamas exists today in Judea and Samaria, but does not control there. There is a threat and terrorist attacks from there, but it is not at all similar to the scale in Gaza, and that is thanks to Operation Defensive Shield and the fact that the IDF continues to operate there regularly.".
On 'the day after' he said: "Hamas may be willing to give up de jure control, and they say, 'Well, someone else will clean up the mess, but we'll keep this militia again' - that's not a solution that we accept. Is there just one answer to what Gaza could look like the day after? No, I think there are several possible answers to what could happen. Over the past year, I've been quietly working on a potential plan that could work. And we'll continue to work on it now.
He emphasized: "Many people think we should return the Palestinian Authority to Gaza. If we repeat 30 years of failure - since Oslo - there is no hope for a different future.".
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