By Ceasefire Bites

This past weekend saw the publication of a rather strange (even by his own standards) interview with Jaccob Perry, former head of Israel’s internal secret service, Shabak.

In the interview, Perry calls Benjamin Netanyahu a “coward and a liar”, and advances his own theory as to why the Israeli PM had agreed to last week’s prisoner swap deal with Hamas:

“let’s be honest here: Netanyahu did not do it for humanitarian reasons, but only to f%#@ Abu Mazen! He is so angry because of the UN bid for a Palestinian state that he decided to make a deal with Hamas.”

Later in the Interview, we find another moment of candour, albeit a rather saner-sounding one:

“We Israelis negotiate only when we are cornered, be it by a crisis or a state of war. It’s sad, because all of us know what the solution is. Yes, it’s painful, but there is no alternative. It breaks my heart to give back the Golan Heights to Syria, or give up East Jerusalem, but if we want a future for our grandchildren, it’s a must.”

Winston Churchill said “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.” Had he lived long enough, he would no doubt have pronounced his remark equally applicable to successive Israeli governments of the past few decades.

(It’s worth pointing out, en passant, that Perry’s fairly matter-of-factly observation, had it been uttered by a US columnist or official, would’ve been denounced as the vilest of heresies by US political and media elites.)

Ceasefire Bites is Ceasefire's news and opinion blog.