by Eliav Breuer
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli added that involving Qatar in negotiations was a mistake.
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Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud) explained his “no” vote on the ongoing hostage deal at the start of the 50th annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem on Sunday.
In a one-on-one conversation with The Jerusalem Post’s editor-in-chief, Zvika Klein, in front of the crowd, Chikli said that before he entered that government meeting, he had not made up his mind, but that during the meeting, after hearing the assessments from various security officials, he decided to oppose it.
The reason for my opposition was that I understood who the prisoners were that we were releasing in exchange for our hostages. This deal includes the release of 700 terrorists - terror experts with records of dozens of attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis and wounded thousands. These are the same terrorists responsible for the Second Intifada and for other severe attacks.
For me, this deal is reminiscent of the Shalit deal. It's a problematic deal because it empties our prisons. I'll give an example: The commander of Hamas’s attack on Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 was a terrorist released in the Shalit deal. You cannot fix a bad deal with an even worse one," Chikli said.
Chikli added, "I'm stating here and now that I will also be unable to support the second stage of the deal. For me, it will actually be even simpler. I cannot vote in favor of the next victims—whether in Gush Etzion, Megiddo, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Afula, or anywhere else."
Chikli continued, "This deal we made projects weakness. If we had applied more military and international pressure, we could have reached a much better deal months ago. In my view, before we proceed with the second stage of the deal, we need to go back to applying effective pressure on Hamas, which would then lead to a far more reasonable agreement.
I believe we are the only country in the world that has stepped back from the battlefield to make a hostage deal. My conclusion from all of this is that we need to be much tougher with our enemies," Chikli said.
Chikli defended his record of cooperation with right-wing and far-right European parties.
Rise in antisemitism
Chikli linked the rise in antisemitism in Western European countries with their failure to combat rising Islamist violence as a result of mass immigration.
"Antisemitism is a growing problem in Europe due to Muslim immigration,” he said. “The European right wing parties have a point, because they realise the problem and are presenting a solution.
They understand the challenge of radical Islam and they are willing to take the necessary steps. So many countries have it completely wrong. Look at the UK, for example, I'm not sure that what is happening there is reversable. These countries need to get a hold of the problem."
According to Chikli, figures like Marine Le-Pen in France proved their support for Israel by participating in pro-Israel events and promising not to enable legislation that could block Kosher slaughter.
Chikli was asked whether he was concerned that the erosion of democracy in Europe, characterized among others by xenophobia and Islamophobia, would eventually lead to a threat against Jews. The minister responded that he did not believe there to be a problem of islamophobia since there was a “very good reason to worry” about the rise of Islamism in Europe.
Chikli expressed support for immigration policies in Hungary and Poland, as examples of places where Jews can walk around freely. The comment drew murmurs from the crowd, with one person claiming that Hungary had a fascist government.
Chikli also warned against the spread of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria via its new regime, which is backed by Turkey. Erdogan and Turkey had the “exact same ideology” as Hamas, and therefore the Syrian front was one Israel should be concerned about.
Qatar also shares this ideology and does public relations for Hamas, Chikli said, adding that the Qatari Al-Jazeera network was the first to put out hostages denigrating IDF soldiers. Chikli said that involving Qatar in negotiations was a mistake.
Chikli’s comment came after the Shin Bet revealed over the weekend that it was checking alleged business ties between senior Netanyahu aides and the Qatari government.
Eliav Breuer
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-842346
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