On opportunities - Yossi Melman interviewing Ami Ayalon in Haaretz:

‘"As part of an overall deal which includes the return of all the hostages, we must release Marwan Barghouti," says former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon in response to a question I've asked. "This is the case for two reasons. Both because the return of the Israeli hostages is the closest thing possible to a "picture of victory" in the current Gaza campaign, and because Marwan is the only Palestinian leader who can be elected and lead a united and legitimate Palestinian leadership toward a path of mutually agreed separation from Israel."
This is the first interview Ayalon has given since the war began on October 7. For the past three months, he has refused to comment on the events in Gaza and the north. He has also refrained from speaking of the Houthi attacks from Yemen on Israel and Red Sea shipping – a sphere familiar to him from his time as commander of the navy's commando unit and later commander of the entire navy.’

(…)

‘"We won in March 2002. At the Arab League summit in Beirut, the Arab countries surrendered and waved a white flag. They withdrew from the League's 1967 decision in Khartoum, known as the 'Three Noes' – no to recognizing Israel, no to negotiations, and no to peace. In March 2002, after 35 years of struggle, at that summit they agreed to recognize Israel and establish full relations with it based on UN and Security Council resolutions that Israel has also signed.
"That's how the 'three yeses' policy was created: yes to recognition, yes to negotiations, and yes to peace with Israel. The tragedy is that we refuse to recognize our own victory and continue to fight. We've turned war into an end in itself."

(…)

‘And the result was October 7? "Yes, the collapse was in several layers of misconception: first and foremost, a diplomatic conception that started with the collapse of the 2000 Camp David talks, and [then-Prime Minister Ehud] Barak's declaration that there is no partner [for peace] on the other side."
And is there a partner? "The Palestinian Authority has recognized Israel within the pre-1967 borders and has agreed to territorial swaps. It agreed that the right of return would be discussed with Israel as part of the negotiations. We have to talk with anyone who will talk to us based on these principles.
"The last to try to lead a move to end the conflict were Ariel Sharon, who decided to leave Gaza and [parts of] northern Samaria because he realized that he was losing the Israeli public, and Ehud Olmert. Since Netanyahu's return to the Prime Minister's Office, he has designed a policy of 'managing the conflict' while deliberately weakening the Palestinian Authority and strengthening Hamas in order to avoid diplomatic negotiations.’

(…)

‘"Crises create opportunity. The war of October 6," the Yom Kippur War, "which cost the lives of over 2.600 troops, taught us that peace with Egypt without the Sinai was better than the Sinai with no peace. It's time we decided where the October 7 war leads."’

Read the article here.

The Israelis like the Palestinians are very good at squandering opportunities.

I’m afraid that the internal divisions with in Israeli society are too big, the addiction to the permanent crisis and the permanent dangerous enemies is real.

The next elections, and also the question when these elections will be held, will tell us a lot.