Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Hamas had won a major victory over Israel.
John Bolton said in an article in the British newspaper “The Telegraph” that the exchange deal has a price and gains, but that Hamas fighters, whom he described as “terrorists,” reaped the majority of the gains.
He wrote that freeing detainees from Hamas was “commendable, but there are right and wrong ways to do it.”
“It remains unclear whether the deal will set a categorically negative precedent for Israel, but it casts doubt on its ability to achieve its legitimate goal of eliminating the terrorist threat posed by Hamas.”
The former U.S. official said the swap deal was “fatally flawed” in many respects, even if all goes well.
He stated that the process of releasing prisoners will last 4 days, which are the days of the truce, and Israel will work, according to Bolton, to prepare for the second round of fighting, including the delivery of supplies to the forces, and the replacement of some of them, but Hamas is the main beneficiary of the truce, as it was subjected to strong pressure from Israel in the days of fighting, and with the cessation of fighting, it will get its fighters out of a difficult situation.
“Hamas traps” and Bolton’s questions
He wondered how many Israeli soldiers would be killed because of the opportunity the truce offered Hamas to set up more “traps.”
If Hamas chooses to release more detainees, the truce will be extended by one day for every 10 of them, he said, asking: “What is the justification for allowing your enemy to unilaterally determine the duration of the truce? What if the logistical difficulties meant the release of only 6 of them?”
This would give Hamas more rest, which “would place unfair burdens on Israel in the event of the resumption of hostilities, and add more leverage to Hamas’s efforts to erase what it did on October 7,” he said.
“Biggest concession”
“Israel and the United States for an unjustified reason agreed to suspend air traffic control over Gaza for 6 hours a day during the truce,” he said, calling it “the biggest concession by Israel, even greater than the truce itself, because it deprives Israel of information about Hamas activities.”
“Israel has agreed to be oblivious to Gaza during this period of time that would be conducive to terrorism.”
