Former MI6 boss says Netanyahu will 'wait for US election' before considering ceasefireSource: Sky News
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00:00Big question, of course, that arises out of all of this is,
00:02does it make a ceasefire more or less likely?
00:06What do you reckon?
00:08Well, in Gaza, I'm not sure it changes things a great deal.
00:13The Israelis feel that they've got both Hamas and Hezbollah
00:17and, to some extent, Iran as well on the back foot.
00:19They want to press home their advantage.
00:22I see that some members, the far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition,
00:26are saying that we shouldn't ease off,
00:28we should keep pressing forward.
00:30The one encouraging sign in this is that Netanyahu has himself now
00:35promoted or highlighted the situation of the hostages.
00:41I think that is now a big political goal for him.
00:45But it's very difficult for him, with his present political setup,
00:49to make concessions to Hamas that he wasn't prepared to make before.
00:54And Hamas will now be looking for a new leadership.
00:56I don't think it's likely that a more moderate,
01:00compromising leadership is going to emerge.
01:02There's going to be a struggle between factions within Hamas
01:05and the hard-aligned factions are likely to emerge.
01:08And that's without mentioning the US election dynamic.
01:11I doubt if Netanyahu will want to give a success to the Biden-Harris
01:16administration just two weeks before the election,
01:19where he would probably prefer Donald Trump to emerge on top.