Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen visited recently in Qatar, and is involved in the efforts to free over 240 people held hostage by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
Speaking with Ynet about the hostages, Cohen said, "I have a defined role, and it is not a topic for discussion. I was present at meetings with the heads of the defense echelon. I am working under the authorities and with permission. I am not leading the negotiations on the matter of the captives, there is a team [for that] headed by Gal Hirsch and the other security organizations. I speak with leaders in the Middle East. In order for there to be fair negotiators on the matter of the hostages, they need to receive a true picture of what we have gone through and what the families are going through.
"Leaders ask me, 'Did these things really happen? That is not allowed under Islamic law.' So I tell them that I have everything on my cellular phone, and I can show them all of the videos and all of the horrors they carried out. The goal is that this should take hold in their hearts, in their souls, and in their minds, when they come to support deals to free the hostages or to broker deals themselves."
According to Cohen, Qatar is a worthy broker when dealing with Hamas - despite claims that it works in the service of Hamas.
"Right now, in Gaza, we must reach a situation of effective brokers, and in practice there are two of these: Qatar and Egypt. I hope that all of the negotiations which are taking place will lead to fruition, but not everything is dependent on us. It's not that we receive a menu or a list to choose from - deal A or deal B. From what we have seen in previous deals, the issue here is one of exchanges. We are really negotiating with the devil, and we will obviously need to pay a price."
When asked whether he supports a temporary cessation of fighting in order to bring about the release of the hostages, Cohen said, "We did this, essentially, in the past two deals. We agreed to some sort of break, including bringing humanitarian aid in through the Rafah Crossing. This needs to be examined during negations on a given deal."
Regarding whether fuel should be transferred to Gaza, at least for humanitarian purposes, Cohen said no: "We need to create a total siege on Gaza. A very tight siege on the Strip serves the success of the war and creates pressure to free the hostages."
Hamas officials are dead people, no matter where they are, he added.
"Eliminating Hamas officials is a decision which needs to be made. If according to foreign reports, we did this in order to remove other risks from hovering above the State of Israel's head, then that is what we need to continue doing. We can do this action," he said.
Cohen noted that in his opinion, Hamas does not constitute an existential threat to Israel: "There is no existential threat, this is not a war for independence. We are not fighting for our existence or our independence. I absolutely do not accept these definitions. We have received a very harsh and painful shock, the likes of which we never experienced. But the State of Israel is a very, very strong state. We still need to prepare for the real togetherness, to understand that even on this matter, what was is not what needs to be."