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There is no room for doubt that the "deal" for the return of Israeli hostages from the captivity of Hamas criminals attests more than anything else to the level of humanity of Israeli society, and its willingness to pay a heavy price out of recognition of the value of the sanctity of life.
Anyone who sees this as a weakness does not understand the principle – we are willing to risk lives to save lives, we fight for life, because this is our essence – the gene of survival that has been with us for thousands of years, which proves time and again – the eternity of Israel is not a lie!
The agreement with Hamas is a very complex issue for the Israelis since it is a tragic event that takes place in the midst of a war, and in fact, from the very beginning, it is one of the main factors that led to the outbreak of war.
Israel is using forces to eradicate the evil of Hamas, its military infrastructure, the criminal terrorists and this Nazi organization, which has committed one of the most serious crimes ever seen against humanity, certainly in the modern era.
However, as a Jewish people that has always promoted the value of survival, we are obligated to return our captives from the hands of Hamas murderers. Not only is this a biblical commandment, but it is also a social value that is being discussed very lively in Israeli society.
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The October 7 war engraved in the soul of the average Israeli that Palestinian terror would accompany us for many years to come, but unlike the event that morning – we lost our innocence, if there was any at all, and what happened there will never be repeated. The desire to destroy Hamas to the fullest is natural, no nation in the world would have suffered such a tragic blow and behaved differently, especially not with a life-loving people.
The people of Israel woke up on October 7 and launched a counteroffensive that shattered the axis of resistance led by the extremist regime in Tehran. All of the Iranian proxies suffered a severe blow, especially Hamas, which built a terrorist state inside Gaza.
We did not aspire to this reality, some thought that Gaza would become a Singaporean model, an example of prosperity and renewal. Since 2005, Israel has tried to avoid military friction in Gaza and has done its best to avoid fighting. But terror struck Israelis again and again as if it wanted to prove that it is impossible to escape reality.
This time, we Israelis, understood. In addition to the fatal blow that we inflicted on the enemy, we will make sure that he will not be able to penetrate us, that he will not develop further and that we will not mistake his intentions again.
The return of terrorists to Hamas in exchange for our captives does not indicate weakness, but rather strength. We are willing to pay a price for our citizens, we aspire to life. This is a supreme Jewish value, and we will fight for it – this is the mutual responsibility that exists within us, and whoever identifies weakness in it is making a grave mistake.
Anyone who tries to interpret the strength of Israeli society on the basis of a prisoner-of-war agreement does not understand the context – we do so after we have won militarily, and those who believe that this is not a victory do not understand what a victory is.
Defeating the enemy and bringing back your people – this is victory. Anyone who believes that inflicting a military defeat on the enemy while giving up on the people in his captivity is a victory is missing an important point, which is the social value of victory.
At the end of the day, what determines whether you won or not is what story people will tell themselves in the future – it's important that they tell the right story.