Israel’s deep concerns over secret negotiations between the Trump administration and Hamas resulted in a heated exchange between a top Israeli official and the US envoy leading the talks, sources familiar with the matter told Axios on Friday.
According to the report, senior Israeli officials had cautioned the US against engaging directly with Hamas, particularly without preconditions. However, despite Israel’s warnings in early February, the US moved forward with the discussions.
The report further said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly avoided direct criticism of President Donald Trump since reports of the talks surfaced, but behind closed doors, tensions have been high.
Netanyahu’s closest confidant, Minister Ron Dermer, expressed Israel’s frustrations directly in a phone call with US hostage envoy Adam Boehler. Sources familiar with the discussion described the conversation as particularly intense.
The contentious call between Dermer and Boehler came just hours after the American envoy met in Doha with Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas political official and the head of its negotiating team. The talks, which had begun a week earlier with lower-ranking Hamas officials, were part of Boehler’s efforts to secure the release of American hostage Edan Alexander, 21, as well as the remains of four other American hostages.
According to sources, the Trump administration saw an opportunity to expand the talks beyond hostages. The US signaled to Hamas that a deal could lead to broader discussions, potentially involving a long-term ceasefire, safe passage out of Gaza for Hamas leaders, the release of all remaining hostages, and an end to the war.
Despite the urgency, the discussions failed to yield the breakthrough Trump and his team had hoped for before his scheduled address to Congress. Hamas’ response was deemed insufficient, according to Axios.
The report said that the talks also broached sensitive matters Israel had not agreed to—specifically, the number of Palestinian prisoners that would be released in exchange for Alexander’s return.
Sources described Dermer’s call with Boehler as “difficult,” with the Israeli minister objecting to any US proposals made without Israel’s prior consent. In response, Boehler reassured Dermer that no deal had been reached and that he was fully aware of Israel’s red lines. One Israeli official suggested that Dermer’s strong opposition led the White House to reconsider its approach.
Following internal discussions on Wednesday, Trump and his advisers decided to publicly pressure Hamas, at which point Trump issued his latest ultimatum to Hamas, writing on his social media channels that Hamas must release all the hostages “or it is over for you”.
On Thursday, Trump commented on the direct talks that his administration has had with Hamas and stated, "We are having discussions with Hamas. We are helping Israel in those discussions, because we're talking about Israeli hostages.”
Earlier on Thursday, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff also acknowledged the talks that Boehler had been holding with Hamas.
"We feel that Hamas has not been forthright with us and it's time for them to be forthright with us, and Edan Alexander would be a very important show [of goodwill]. We'll see how they're gonna react. The President has issued a statement about what's acceptable to him and what's not, and hopefully we'll see good behavior [from Hamas] next week and I'll be able to go in there and have discussions," he said.
Despite the focus on Edan Alexander, Witkoff stressed that "lives matter" to Trump, not just American lives, but "all lives," including all of the remaining hostages.
No comments:
Post a Comment