Former Shin Bet director: I am impressed by Deif

Former Shin Bet director Carmi Gillon said he is impressed with the chief commander of the Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades Mohammed Deif. He added that he greatly appreciates the fact that Deif has survived dozens of assassination attempts.

In an interview aired last night on Uvada, a programme broadcasted on Israel’s Channel 2, Gillon said that he wishes Israel would have Mohammed Deif in their special Chiefs of Staff unit, describing him as the “shadow man”.

The programme addressed the latest attempt to assassinate Deif and the information collected before the operation was carried out, noting that Israel was waiting for the end of the ceasefire in order to attack the Dalou family home. However, Shin Bet officials doubt whether Deif was killed in the raid.

Last night’s Uvada episode dedicated most of the programme to talk about the contradictions between Shin Bet, the military, and the political level in Israel with regards to the Shin Bet’s warning last January regarding Hamas’ intention to ignite a war in July, however the army confirmed that it had no knowledge of any warnings in this regard.

The programme’s host, Ilana Dayan, also interviewed Israeli army spokesperson Moti Almoz who denied that Shin Bet had issued any warning or provided any information to the army or the political level that suggested that Hamas intended to start a war. He challenged Shin Bet to prove otherwise. Israel’s prime minister also said he “heard no such warnings”.

A Shin Bet official in the Gaza Strip known as “R” also spoke on the programme saying: “Israel underestimated Hamas and did not expect it to endure the war for 50 days after seeing the massive destruction caused in the Gaza Strip.”

He also pointed out that he expected Hamas to declare a ceasefire after the first truce and after seeing the destruction, or that it would agree to the first ceasefire agreement. He did not think that Hamas could endure the war for so long.