In a sharply worded op-ed published in Maariv, former Justice Minister Chaim Ramon criticized the proposed ceasefire deal with Hamas, dubbed the “Witkoff Outline,” warning that the plan is deeply flawed and offers no real resolution. He described it bluntly as “the worst of all worlds.”
Ramon argued that the current terms on the table would effectively bring Israel’s military operation to a halt in exchange for the release of just ten living hostages, while another ten would remain in Hamas captivity without any definite timeline for their return.
He addressed the reported diplomatic pressure being applied by President Donald Trump on Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to accept the deal and move toward ending the conflict. Ramon called on Netanyahu to take a firm stance and insist that the war will only conclude if Hamas agrees to release all hostages—both those alive and those who have died—within a matter of days. “I very much hope that Trump will support such a move,” he added.
Ramon suggested that if Hamas were to agree to such an offer, it would allow Israel to retrieve all the hostages and begin the process of national healing. After that, he wrote, the military would be in a position to prepare for the next phase of operations in Gaza, aimed at dismantling what he described as the “Hamastan state.”
However, if Hamas rejects the proposal, Ramon asserted, Netanyahu would then have both the ethical and political legitimacy to continue the war effort. “Even your domestic opponents will know that you were willing to go all the way to bring back all the hostages—and that Hamas is the one refusing to do so,” he wrote.
Let’s first hear why the government opened the borders on Simchas Torah in the first place?