Former Mossad director Efraim Halevy said this week that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was an unreliable figure unable to control his own base in Judea and Samaria, while the Hamas terror group that controls Gaza is more realistic. Interviewed by the Toronto Globe and Mail, Halevy called Hama “diabolical" but "credible,” and said a ceasefire could be reached without making it a precondition that Hamas renounce its charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel.
He said, “I'm not in love with Hamas. I am looking for something practical.” Halevy added, “We have to convince Hamas that it is in their self-interest to deal with us. We are beginning to tread in that direction.”
Halevy, who was in Canada on behalf of Yad Vashem, said that the danger posed by Iran is undercut by internal dissidence.