A red line: 'Releasing Barghouti is like releasing Sinwar,' ex-Shin Bet official warns

Former senior Shin Bet official and member of the IDSF security group, Yossi Amrosi likened releasing Abdullah Barghouti as part of a hostage deal to releasing Yahya Sinwar and spoke on complications of achieving such a deal.

"If you release Abdullah Barghouti, who is serving 66 life sentences, you are releasing the next Yahya Sinwar. 

“The underground tunneling that Hamas has been building for 17 years is complex and difficult to locate. We wanted to buy quiet with Qatari money, and we knew we were paying the price of Hamas's buildup in tunnels and missiles," Amrosi added.

Amrosi’s comments came during a Tuesday interview on 104.5FM. He also referred to ongoing hostage talks in Cairo.

"The main significance of Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar's trip to Cairo is that there are negotiations. We can see signs of shared interests between the two sides that might lead to progress on a deal and the return of hostages. On a basic level, we are still not close to signing, and we are far from an agreement," Amrosi began.

Difficulties in a deal

"We need to check details like how many prisoners, which prisoners, whether to withdraw, when to withdraw, what happens to the displaced Gazans, and how much the IDF will be able to operate inside [the Gaza Strip]. 

“One of the major stumbling blocks in the negotiations is the Philadelphi Corridor, which is key to Hamas’s ability to rearm, as it is the source of its military equipment," he said.