00:00But the question now is, what is the response of Hamas?
00:05Hamas, I believe, I assess, believes it's winning, believes that if more Palestinians
00:12die, if Israeli hostages die in the process of a ground campaign, it will increase international
00:19pressure, domestic Israeli pressure on the government to bring an end to all of this.
00:23I hope I am wrong, but I think that a Hamas acceptance of the need, even progressively,
00:32to disarm, to give up its ambitions, which go far beyond Gaza or Ramallah, and extend to
00:39their desire ideologically to supplant all secular governments in the Middle East, I don't
00:46think that they are likely to accept.
00:48But what this plan does, what this announcement does, is it shifts the onus squarely onto Hamas
00:56and, frankly, onto all those in a position to apply pressure to Hamas.
01:01There's a new dimension to this deal.
01:04One of the points that struck me was this offer of amnesty to Hamas.
01:09Anyone in Hamas who hands over their weapons and commits to coexistence is eligible for that
01:14amnesty.
01:15Does that sound to you like an attractive carrot for them?
01:22Again, in the scale of things, I think it's important to state in any plan that there is
01:28a way out, a safe way out for those who give up the gun.
01:32But again, I don't see the Hamas leadership as willing or believing it necessary to give up
01:39their arms, to give up their chance, not just at governance of Gaza, but also at their broader
01:45regional objectives.
01:46I'm afraid all of those provisions, while necessary, are not sufficient to lead Hamas to the conclusion
01:54that they must accept this.
01:56That was just right.
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