MEMRI President Yigal Carmon said in an October 14, 2023 show on Israel's official Arab-language broadcaster Makan TV that Gaza is a "death trap," and it is not worth sending Israeli ground forces, it is better to finish the mission gradually, without haste. He continued to say that Israel should offer families, women, and children in Gaza a humanitarian corridor to evacuate, but Hamas objects to this because it wants to use them as human shields. Carmon stated that Israel should release all the Palestinian prisoners it has in exchange for the hostages held in Gaza. When the interviewer asked if this would not be considered a defeat, Carmon replied that Israel has already been defeated and all it has left is to save the people held in Gaza. He stated that Qatar has declared war on Israel by means of Hamas. Carmon said that "Qatar is Hamas and Hamas is Qatar," and he added that Qatar is a terrorist state and the Aal Thani family is a thieving family. He said that Al-Jazeera would pay the price for its ties with Hamas.
To view the clip of MEMRI President Yigal Carmon, click here or below:
"Gaza Is A Death Trap... With Whose Money Did They Build This Underground Gaza? With Qatari Money"
Interviewer: "The operation of the IDF ground forces in Gaza is drawing near, and you oppose this."
Yigal Carmon: "I oppose this because Gaza is a death trap. Saleh Al-Arouri said: 'We have prepared ourselves for this, and we invite them to come.'
"With whose money did they build this underground Gaza? With Qatari money. Tunnels, weapons, military bases... They are ready. Obviously, if we move in, we will finish them off, but at what price? This is not worth the lives of the soldiers. Therefore, I say to the government and to everybody that there is no reason to be hasty. America supports us. We should maintain things are they are, and complete [the mission] gradually, and there is no need to send ground forces."
[...]
"There Should Be Humanitarian Corridors, So That Anyone Who Is Not Connected To Hamas And Wants To Leave Can Do That"
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Interviewer: "Even the Americans say to the IDF: 'When we fought ISIS in Iraq and Syria, we established 'safe corridors' for innocent people.' Do you think that Israel will ultimately agree to that?"
Carmon: "That is true. We should have been the ones to offer this. There should be humanitarian corridors, so that anyone who is not connected to Hamas and wants to leave can do that. There are people, families, children, women... They should be able to leave. Who objects to that? Hamas, because it wants to use them as human shields.
[...]
"Al-Jazeera Aired Lies; It Said That Israel Was Bombing The People Moving Southward; This Is A Lie... [Al-Jazeera TV] Serves Hamas; It Is A Hamas Organ"
"Al-Jazeera TV aired lies. It said that Israel was bombing the people moving southward. This is a lie. They want to prevent the people from leaving. [Al-Jazeera TV] serves Hamas, of course. It is a Hamas organ."
[...]
Interviewer: "You say that Israel should release those [Palestinian] prisoners, in exchange for the hostages held in Gaza?"
Carmon: "In exchange for all the people who were kidnapped, all the wounded [hostages], all the raped women, everybody held by them. We'll take them back, and they can take all their..."
Interviewer: "But this might be seen by the world as a defeat of the IDF and Israel..."
Carmon: "The defeat already happened. We cannot tell ourselves anything else. Even if we exact revenge from them – and I am sure we will – the defeat will not go away. It is here to stay. What is left for us to do is to save the poor people held by them, so we can tell their families that we have offered everything, that there was nothing else for us to offer.
[...]
"Qatar Is Hamas And Hamas Is Qatar; Qatar Has Declared War Against Israel By Means Of Hamas"
"Qatar is Hamas and Hamas is Qatar. Qatar has declared war against Israel by means of Hamas, and it will pay a steep price for that. At the moment, the Americans and the Israelis talk [to the Qataris], because everybody wants to get some help from them, but when it is over and it becomes clear that there is nothing left to take from Qatar... The truth about Qatar has been exposed. It is a terror state. Aal Thani is a thieving family, a family of terror. Everybody knows that. The mastermind of 9/11 hid in Doha, Qatar.
[...]
"The declaration of war was on Al-Jazeera TV, by Mohammed Deif, on Saturday morning. And since then, they aired all the statements by Abu Ubaida. They will all pay the price."
