Dr. Einat Wilf, former MK and co-author of "The War of Return", spoke with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News about the prospects for a prisoner exchange agreement.

"After the negotiations of the 90s, I started listening to the Palestinians. As Israel offered and America pressured negotiations, I noticed that the Palestinians were never really there to accept the existence of a Jewish state."

"Since then, there has been one vow I made to myself over the last twenty years - to listen to the Palestinians without wishful thinking. Listening to the supposed negotiations for the hostages, I am not hearing that there is a deal."

"This breaks my heart. My country is being ripped apart as our people fight each other saying to take the deal or not. There is no deal to be taken, and if there was one, it is only the same demand Hamas made on October 8th. They want to go back to how things were on October 6th, and that is why they took the hostages, as an insurance policy, and to show the world that you can invade Israel and suffer no consequences."

"Hamas, as an organization, has not suffered any consequences, as long as it is considered a legitimate negotiating partner. Whoever we killed, they will replace. It is an abomination that Hamas is being negotiated with - that you can kidnap people from their beds and be considered a legitimate partner."

Dr. Wilf proposes a new course of action: "We should have made it clear that Gaza is an enemy and that we have no obligation to supply them with anything. People have worried that they would starve the hostages without humanitarian supplies, but we now know that they starve the hostages anyway."

"We also know that they want to return the people of Gaza to the north, so we should instead force all of Gaza south, kilometer by kilometer. One of the ways we will win is to push the enemy to the south until all the hostages are returned. There may be other ideas, but that should be the minimum."

"What matters is to actually do something. The failure of this campaign after eleven months, with Hamas still feeling able to demand the same things as on October 8th, is an abomination."

Dr. Wilf believes that a different message must be sent to the negotiation apparatus as well. "We need to admit to a mistake. Hamas has been buying time, and Egypt and Qatar are playing a double game. We must cease negotiating, close our borders, and begin to clear every kilometer of Gaza from north to south. If the world says don't, we need only ask them what their better idea is - but this is what we must do until we hear that better idea."

She also criticized the government for, in her opinion, not living up to its commitments. "We have never had a government that talked such a high and mighty game and then did the opposite. After eleven months, Hamas still feels confident enough to demand the same things. That is the definition of a failed campaign."

Source: INN   PHOTO and VIDEO: Use according to Section 27 A