Shalom Ben Hanan, former head of a division of the Shin Bet and a research fellow at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism Policy at Reichman University, spoke today (Sunday) with Anat Davidov and Udi Segal on radio 103fm and referred to the contacts in the kidnapping deal taking shape and the reports of the dispute between the senior officials of the organization, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh.
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“We have known the tension between Sinwar and Haniyeh for quite a few years,” said Ben Hanan. “Hanya was pretty much removed from the Gaza Strip to the comfortable position of the world leader of Hamas, who used to be more significant in Hamas. Since Sinwar entered the Strip, he shifted the weight of global power to the Gaza Strip. I don’t know if these are tricks, but it is clear that there is tension and a gap, and Sinwar and Haniya see things differently. I really hope that Sinwar is stressed, I don’t think there is any other option. I’m not sure that we have reached a sense of distress, but after the explosion of the previous deal and the persistent fighting in it, he is not ready to do any negotiations, there is no doubt that agreeing to some kind of deal indicates a certain pressure. How much? We will see according to the requirements.”
He later added: “We still haven’t been able to dissuade Sanwar from the tougher demands, such as a total cessation of the war and other demands, some of which I think we have only heard in hints. Much more than the release of prisoners. It may also be convenient for Hamas to conduct an experiment, by releasing some of the abductees, this Still leaving most of the cards on his side.
This man planned to kidnap 20 hostages. He still has 136 hijacks, that’s a lot of cards, he can sacrifice some of those cards. This is clear to both him and us. That is why it is convenient for him to try, to ask for a long period, with the hope that it will make it difficult for us to return to fighting due to the length of the pause. There is no doubt that he has enough margin of safety and cards to do both such a negotiation, and to go to such a stage on the way to the final deal.”
Regarding the situation in Gaza, he said: “It is clear that wherever we leave it, it is impossible to do these things even with the thinning of the forces and the continuation of the very intense fighting in Khan Yunis, and also to hold the north in such a way that not a single Hamas operative will enter there. There are many people who think that this goal is achievable, And I am among them, it will just take time. We are talking about about a year, so we must show patience and understand that there are ups and downs along the way. There are many casualties from the return of Hamas operatives to the northern region, we are talking about 200 just from the last week.
If we want to bring in certain elements that will control Gaza after the war, it should be done at the same time as the fighting continues so that it will be possible to control the territory and not see sight of Hamas operatives returning and terrorizing the population, and taking administrative measures. This thing should be prevented.”
Assisted in the preparation of the article: Michal Kadosh, 103fm