Occupied Palestine/Tel Aviv - October 23 - The Israeli military expert, Yoav Limor, confirmed that the besieged Gaza Strip is on the brink of an explosion, denying the existence of progress in the negotiations of a prisoner exchange deal with the "Hamas" movement. Limor said, in an article for the Hebrew newspaper "Israel Today", that "there is no need for any sensitivity or exceptional experience to understand that Gaza is on the verge of an explosion."

He added: "This stems from a series of issues and issues that are coming together slowly and are likely to get things out of control very soon, and the central issue, as always, is the internal situation in the Strip (besieged by Israel for 15 years). Five months after the last aggression, Gaza is stuck. and frustrated.” He explained that "the issue of the Qatari grant has only been partially resolved (Gaza employees are waiting for salaries), and settlement talks in Cairo are taking place slowly under the Israeli reservation, which stipulates that every progression of a solution is first required for the issue of prisoners."

Limor said: "We should take, with a limited guarantee, the rumors that spread in the recent weeks about a breach in communications for an exchange deal. This is a psychological war on the part of Hamas and perhaps Egypt, aimed at putting pressure on the Israeli government by the families of soldiers captured by Hamas in Gaza."

Limor pointed out that "a review with several parties showed that no real progress was recorded in the communications. Hamas insists on a proud list of recaptured released prisoners, many of whom are senior prisoners, which Israel strongly rejects, and the assessment that Tel Aviv will only agree to liberate the prisoners of the deal." Hence, the absence of new data in the equation makes the possibility of progress in the deal slight to zero. He cautioned that "other issues such as Jerusalem, and as always attracted attention beyond its geographical borders, join the suspended communication in Cairo, and the security situation in the West Bank remains explosive with almost the daily confrontations that have continued since the Gilboa prison operation."

The permanent explosive issue, which is the prisoners, there is a great consensus in the Palestinian street regarding their issue, and the issue returns to the headlines against the background of the deterioration in the detention conditions of some of the families and the threat of many of them to start a hunger strike. And the expert stated, "Each of these matters is a permanent item in the hands of Hamas when it searches for reasons to maintain the conflict.

As for joining them simultaneously, it is dangerous and requires sensitive action, especially when things come against the background of the situation in Gaza, which is more dangerous than it was in the past in every respect." He considered that one of Hamas' achievements in the last battle was that it was able to "link several fronts (the West Bank, Jerusalem, Gaza, and the occupied interior), in addition to the feeling among the broad masses that its hand was supreme." He pointed out that the question today: "What is the army's policy when Gaza is once again on the brink of an explosion?"

Limor said: "Another confrontation in Gaza is on the agenda, but what will Israel do to prevent or manage it, and when needed, resolve it?"

"What happened previously was embarrassing in front of the cameras." Limor warned that "if Israel is interested in doing everything to solve the Gaza issues through dialogue, it must press the pedal in Cairo, and be prepared to pay part of the price, but if it assesses that this is impossible, and that the confrontation in Gaza It is inevitable, it should manage the confrontation, not be managed by it, because this is a strategic issue that necessitates serious discussions and balanced and tidy decisions."

He warned that "Israel appears to be evading the confrontation, because the matter will turn against it not only in Gaza but on other fronts, especially the home front (Arab cities)," adding: "In other words, Israel should think if it should take the initiative first. For a step in Gaza, to begin with force, with a military surprise advantage and then with emphasis, and for the first step there is a title; it is the leader of Hamas in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, and this should have happened a long time ago, but now - after he lost the balance completely - it seems that the time has come (the liquidation of Sinwar) ". "Whoever pushed for this incessantly was the former head of the "Shin Bet", Nadav Argaman, because he believes that as long as Sinwar remains, there is zero possibility of settlement and calm and that Sinwar has become a problem in and of itself that departs from his official position, which is an interesting question, the answer to which is It will not be given unless he disappears from the scene."

The military expert estimated, “The order to target Sinwar, if issued, will be in the shrine of the new Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, who adopts the same approach as Argaman,” adding that “the time has come for a real discussion about it, and to clarify what Israel wants from itself.” in Gaza, and how it intends to get there.