EXCERPT:
FRIEDMAN: “I believe Hamas was out to trigger a ferocious Israeli response that would cause a lot of casualties among Hamas' own, you know, supporters and -- and civilians in Gaza for one purpose. Hamas is -- Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood that it is part of, regionally sees as a strategic threat the attempt to put together a deal by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel that would normalize relations between Saudi Arabia, the most important Muslim country, and the Jewish state, and as part of that deal, Israel would be expected to make concessions to the Palestinians to revive a two-state solution with the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, the decent Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, the Palestinian authority that has recognized Israel's right to exist. For the Muslim brotherhood groups in the region, the Islamist groups, the idea of normalization, between the keeper of the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina and the Jewish state and the moderate Palestinian authority in Ramallah, that is a fundamental strategic threat to Iran, to Hezbollah, and to Hamas. And I believe what triggered this war was their belief that if they can drag Israel into Gaza, force it to cause massive casualties, that will make it impossible for the Saudis then to go ahead with this deal.”