Khaberni - The Israeli Energy Minister and member of the small ministerial council for political and security affairs, Eli Cohen, said that Israel might have to use force to ensure the disarmament of Hamas, expressing doubt in the ability of any international party to carry out this task.
Cohen's statements came during an interview conducted today, Sunday, with the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, where he said: «Either disarmament, which will not happen, or an international force moves against Hamas, but I doubt that will happen», adding: «We will give it a chance, but it is clear to me that we will eventually be forced to do it ourselves».
Cohen affirmed that Hamas will not voluntarily disarm, considering Israel to be the only entity capable of achieving this «if necessary by force».
Regarding the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, Cohen clarified that the first stage of the agreement, from Israel's perspective, «will not be completed until the return of the Israeli Ran Gili», emphasizing that his return is a fundamental condition for moving to the second phase, revealing «intense activities conducted away from the limelight» to achieve this goal.
Cohen also mentioned a connection between dealing with what he described as violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the gas deal with Egypt, stating that Israel discussed these violations and utilized, among other tools, the gas deal file «to work on stopping them and ensuring they do not recur in the future».
