Israeli Ministers Smotrich (right) and Ben Gvir are holding the Israeli government hostage, according to a former intelligence official (Reuters)

The former head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Division (AMAN), Major General (Res.) Amos Malka, said that the American talk about recognizing a Palestinian state is a signal directed at Israel as a matter of pressure only.

In an interview with Israeli radio FM 103, Malka said that Washington is not serious in raising the issue of a Palestinian state, but rather only wants to put pressure on Israel, which has been reluctant to cooperate with American initiatives since the start of the war on Gaza.

Regarding the war on Gaza, Malka described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a hostage in the hands of some of his ministers, and said that instead of speaking out to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and his ministers, he “showed cowardice in confronting elements within his coalition who are promoting conspiracy theories and attacking the Chief of Staff,” and described the behavior of The government is terrible during the current war.

The former military intelligence commander recalled shocking statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich about two weeks ago, in which he said that the return of prisoners is not the most important issue currently and will not top the “agenda” until after the elimination of Hamas, and that he “hopes that (Yahya) Sinwar will freeze to death in the tunnels, despite This means that the prisoners freeze and die with him.”

Malka said, “This government is supposed to wage war on Hamas, but in reality Smotrich (and National Security Minister Itamar) Ben Gvir say and do whatever they want and are dependent on it.” He gave examples in which the Finance Minister completely underestimated Netanyahu when he described him as a big liar, and said that Smotrich’s ally is in the hostage of the president. The government is Ben Gvir, who launched an electronic campaign supported by hundreds of thousands to thwart the prisoner exchange deal.

With the army announcing the formation of an investigation team in the period before last October 7, Malka said that the intelligence, military and political failure was profound, and he recalled 4 strategic warnings issued by the General Security Service and the Military Intelligence Division in 2023, to which no one took any action except the Minister of Defense, who According to him, he took one of these warnings, and almost lost his bag because of it.

Egypt and the Rafah attack

As for the Rafah crossing, the former military intelligence commander called for coordination with Egypt.

Because any movement without it may be a problem, and he stressed his confidence in the possibility of obtaining this coordination in one way or another, and attributed the delay in the attack on Rafah to the political level, which has not yet taken the decision, and not to the army.

According to Malka, if the goal of the war does not change (which is to eliminate Hamas), Israel must enter Rafah to neutralize (kill) the movement’s leadership, and to prove that it is also doing its utmost to recover the prisoners or to increase pressure, calling for preferring the option of a Palestinian entity running Gaza after the war;

Because a military rule would be a strategic mistake and political foolishness, in his opinion.

Source: Israeli press