Peace With Hamas 'Impossible' - Former Israeli Ambassador

Peace and Hamas “don’t go together”, says Mark Regev, Israel’s former ambassador to the UK.

“It is impossible to have peace with Hamas and they have said so publicly,” Regev told BBC’s Newshour programme on Monday evening.

He was likely referring to a comment earlier this month from Taher El-Nounou, a Hamas media adviser – he told the New York Times that the group hopes war with Israel “will become permanent on all the borders”.

“And that’s why the Israeli public is 100% united in saying we refuse to live any longer next to this terror enclave on our southern border. And we have to talk about a future without Hamas,” Regev said.

When asked if Israel will support rebuilding in the Gaza Strip, which has been extensively destroyed by Israel’s retaliatory bombing, Regev said his country’s budget is focused on rebuilding communities in southern Israel.

He added that he expects that many international partners will be willing to finance Gaza’s rebuilding efforts.

“It doesn’t have to be Israeli money… This is not a war that we started or that we wanted, as you know. Hamas bears responsibility for the outbreak of hostilities,” he said.