The result of the hostage-for-cease-fire deal will be “hell unleashed on Israeli civilians,” according to Knesset member Amit Halevi of the Likud Party.
As the deal was finalized, Halevi told the ILTV News Podcast that Israel’s agreement to the current terms would lead to a future of terror for the country and the world.
“We didn’t compromise with the Nazi ideology [in 1945], and we should not have any compromise with the Nazi regime today,” Halevi said, comparing the Hamas terror organization to the Nazis.
Britain’s Winston Churchill once considered making a deal with Nazi Germany to end World War II. However, he ultimately declared that Britain would fight to the end: “We are fighting to save the whole world from the pestilence of Nazi tyranny and in defense of all that is most sacred to man.”
“Hamas has a racist vision,” Halevi said. “It has totalitarian aspirations, and Israel is only the first course… There should not be any compromise with this regime.”
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While Halevi emphasized his desire to bring all the hostages home, he argued that the IDF could have achieved this by force earlier in the now 15-month war. He criticized the agreement, which secures the release of only some hostages in exchange for dangerous prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops, as a betrayal of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives, limbs, and futures in Gaza.
“It is not acceptable,” Halevi stressed. “It’s horrible.”
He argued that the deal is also detrimental to the hostages themselves. While phase I is likely to result in the release of 33 hostages — mostly women, children, and the elderly — in exchange for hundreds of prisoners, there is no guarantee regarding subsequent phases. This means two-thirds of the 98 hostages still in Gaza may never be freed. Instead, they could face the same fate as Gilad Shalit, who was held for around five years before his release in 2011.
Others, he said, may never get out.
Halevi stated that the current deal effectively restores Hamas to power. The military had reported dismantling 80% of Hamas’s military infrastructure. However, recent U.S. State Department reports indicate that Hamas has managed to recruit as many terrorists as Israel has killed over the past year.
In addition, Hamas continues to rule the majority of the Gaza Strip, controlling the distribution of international humanitarian aid and diverting much of it for its own purposes. In the past, such aid has been used to sustain Hamas and build the underground tunnel network that facilitated the October 7 massacre.
Moreover, the long-term implications of the deal include removing Israeli soldiers from the Rafah crossing into Egypt — a known entry point for weapons, ammunition, and other supplies used to support terror activities in Gaza.
Halevi said that Israel should have declared total war and finished Hamas while it did not bring the hostages home. He criticized top commanders in Tel Aviv for their handling of the war, asserting that Israel should have taken control of the Strip rather than running a series of operations. For example, Israel has been in and out of Jabaliya more than a handful of times.
He added that providing humanitarian corridors for Gaza’s civilians was essential, but Israel should have relocated civilians and cut off electricity, water and other necessities from those areas to force Hamas out of its tunnels.
“It will take a week or two, and they will get out of the tunnels, exhausted, hungry, and surrounded,” Halevi said. “This is the only way that Hamas understands. This is the only way to prevent future kidnappings.”
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He warned that the hostage deal guarantees repeated kidnappings of Israelis and Jews.
“Let’s say now we get 20 hostages back,” Halevi said. “All of their kids, all of their grandchildren—they will be kidnapped again.”
He concluded: “This deal will be a victory for America’s enemy. Our soldiers are not fighting for Gaza or for Jerusalem. They are fighting for Washington, for London, and for Mecca.”