Israeli officials have spoken with their counterparts in the Trump administration to clear up the issue of talks between White House Hostage Affairs Envoy Adam Boehler and the Hamas terror organization over the release of hostages from Gaza.
According to Kan Reshet Bet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his staff told the cabinet on Sunday that the sides came to an agreement that any talks between Boehler and the terror organization would be fully coordinated with Israel.
The cabinet ministers were told that "the issue has been solved."
This follows reports that not all the talks were not coordinated with Israel. Last week Axios reported a heated conversation between Boehler and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer about Israel’s deep concerns over secret negotiations.
Boehler discussed the contacts with Hamas and the conversation with Minister Dermer in a series of Sunday interviews with both American and Israeli news outlets.
In an interview with CNN, he said: “I spoke with Ron, and I’m sympathetic. He has someone that he doesn’t know well making direct contact with Hamas. Maybe I would see them and say, ‘Look, they don’t have horns growing out of their head. They’re actually guys like us. They’re pretty nice guys.’”
He told Kan News that "Hamas suggested that they would release all hostages, lay down their weapons, and no longer be part of the politics of Gaza and that the US and its allies would ensure there was no military infrastructure remaining in Gaza. In exchange, there would be a five to ten-year truce, and the US and other countries would help rebuild Gaza."
He later clarified the remarks he made in the CNN interview in a post on social media:
“I want to be CRYSTAL CLEAR as some have misinterpreted. Hamas is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of innocent people. They are BY DEFINITION BAD people. And as President Trump has said, not a single Hamas member will be safe if Hamas doesn’t RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES IMMEDIATELY."
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