Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Nadav Argaman recently warned the political-security cabinet that pushing for the inking of a ceasefire deal with Hamas would diminish Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas' influence in the Gaza Strip and strengthen Hamas in Judea and Samaria.
According to a Hadashot 2 report on Thursday, Argaman warned of the implications of contacts between Israel and Hamas, saying that a ceasefire would prove to the terrorists that violence pays. "Such a move will also weaken the moderates and prove to the Palestinians that only through violence does Israel achieve results," the spymaster allegedly said.
Argaman's remarks echo similar sentiments that Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett expressed earlier on Thursday. According to Bennett, a deal with Hamas would encourage the terror group to up its involvement of terrorism in the future.
"After 140 days of rockets, snipers, and Molotov cocktails, Hamas learned that terrorism has paid off ... The truth is that the Israel-Hamas agreement is a mistake and the concept of containment has failed," he contended.
Bennett also vehemently rejected Liberman's view that Israel could persuade the Gaza Arabs to replace the Hamas government: "The message has been received. Terrorism pays, Hamas fires rockets at us and Israel collapses."
"Our job is not to convince but to neutralize Hamas' strength and its ability to harm the citizens of Israel," added Bennett.