Former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy said on Sunday that it is time to talk with Hamas, and added that he would not be surprised if incoming Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman is the one who starts those talks.

“Hamas is no longer linked to Iran. They are adrift from Iran and looking for ways to reach out to Israel,” Halevy claimed in comments at the Jerusalem Post conference taking place in New York, adding that “American officials have heard such messages from Hamas in recent years.”

Israel, said the former Mossad chief, “is indestructible” and faces no existential threats from Hamas or Hezbollah.

“Now is the time to talk to Hamas and I wouldn’t be surprised if Liberman is the one to do this,” asserted Halevy.

Liberman is set to be appointed Defense Minister after he reached an agreement with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on his Yisrael Beytenu party joining the coalition.

Over the weekend, Hamas issued an open challenge to Liberman, who in recent weeks stated that if the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin are not returned by Hamas, he will eliminate Hamas’s leadership.

“If Liberman is a real man, let him approach Gaza,” said Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar, who branded Liberman a “coward.”

“If Gaza will want to hunt him, it will hunt him,” he added in a threat.