Ailam: US Didn't Pressure Israel to Sign Ceasefire Deal

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00:00We're listening to President Trump talking about everlasting peace.

00:03Let me ask you, from the Israeli public perspective,

00:06is this a short-term ceasefire, an opportunity to see the release of those hostages after two years of waiting?

00:14Or is it actually a pathway to an enduring peace?

00:19First of all, thank you for having me.

00:21I wouldn't rush right now to buy equity in Gaza.

00:26And I don't see an everlasting peace occurring right now,

00:31simply because of the fact that the process of dismantling the Hamas is going to be quite long and unstable.

00:42Right now, the Hamas has agreed to start the negotiation on the second phase of the agreement,

00:50simply because of the fact that the Israeli military pressure on them

00:56that had moved around 800,000 Palestinians from Gaza down to the south

01:04was an immense blow to the Hamas efforts to maintain their stronghold in Gaza.

01:13Second, of course, is the president of the United States, Netanyahu.

01:19And third, we have a new player in town which has a huge effect on the Hamas,

01:25which is Turkey, I would say the new dancing queen, that has an immense power over the Hamas.

01:34So right now, it is for sure that this first phase of the agreement will be initiated.

01:42I don't see, even though there are some obstacles and stuff like that,

01:46I don't see anything that can hinder that.

01:49Regarding the second phase and long-lasting peace, I'm much more skeptical.

01:57What does demilitarization of Hamas actually mean, in effect?

02:01It's a word that's being thrown around a lot, but what does it actually mean,

02:05the full disarmament and neutralization of Hamas?

02:08What does that mean?

02:09It means something very simple but very difficult to achieve.

02:14The Hamas no longer has the military capability of inflicting any sort of attack or damage

02:24or terror acts against Israel, which means that they have to submit all their weapons,

02:31their ammunition, dismantle this huge tunnel system that the world's never seen before.

02:38And this is something that I consider a very difficult phase,

02:45not because the Hamas are afraid of the Israeli military,

02:50but they are more afraid of internal clans and tribes that will try to backlash against Hamas

02:58when they are dismantled.

03:00So I don't see right now in the feasible future this possibility.

03:04Okay, so if the disarmament is not achieved to the level that Israel would like to see,

03:12is it then right to expect that these attacks could ensue once again,

03:18i.e. the ceasefire could lapse because of insufficient progress on disarmament?

03:23The ceasefire, the second phase of the ceasefire will be very fragile and Israel will have to take

03:33and monitor very closely any sort of rebuilding of the Hamas force in Gaza.

03:43And we'll have to restrict it in the same way that we are doing that in Lebanon.

03:49And this is going to be a major obstacle because of the fact that there will be foreigners

03:56and foreign forces within Gaza.

03:59And so it might be quite a difficult task for Israel to take care of whatever we see as a threat.

04:09Let's not forget, I don't see anyone from Dubai or from Egypt or even from the United States

04:17running down the allies of Sajiria trying to dismantle the Hamas.

04:24It won't happen.

04:25It will have to be taken care by a coordination between Israel and whatever forces are within Gaza.

04:33And it is a complicated business.

04:34OK, I want to ask you about something else, which is why the Israeli prime minister signed on

04:43and the Israeli cabinet signed on to the deal.

04:46It was really interesting to note that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were both present

04:50during the cabinet meeting overnight and really a reflection of how much vested interest the U.S.

04:55has in this process.

04:56In the absence of President Trump pressure, would Israel have signed on to this deal?

05:01I don't think so.

05:05I'm reading what is written about it and so on.

05:09I think this deal was crafted between President Trump and his team, of course, and the Israeli

05:18Netanyahu and Dermer.

05:21I don't think it was a pressure by the United States on Israel to sign the deal.

05:28They didn't take the Israel hand and say, sign it right now.

05:31No, I think it's both in the interest of Israel and the Netanyahu administration and Trump

05:39to sign the deal.

05:40So it's more of a formal way, the fact that the delegation, American delegation, attended

05:48this cabinet meeting.

05:50I think it was a signed deal.

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