Jerusalem is displeased with direct talks between the US and Hamas, particularly because the Israeli Prime Minister was informed of the talks only after the fact.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel was behind the leak of the direct negotiations between the US and Hamas in order to derail them, Ynet reports.
On Wednesday, the media reported the news that US officials were making the unprecedented move of negotiating directly with Hamas, overturning the established US policy of not holding talks directly with terror groups.
Jerusalem is displeased with direct talks, particularly because the Israeli Prime Minister was informed of the talks only after the fact, contrary to the insistence of US officials that Israel was fully informed of the matter.
The US decided against informing Israel of the meeting between Trump hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Hamas ahead of time because a similar meeting had been canceled previously due to opposition from Israel.
Boehler went ahead with the meeting, emphasizing the need to release one living American hostage, Eden Alexander, and the bodies of four deceased US citizens: Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, and Judith Weinstein.
Israel is reportedly concerned that the talks would emphasize the release of US hostages to the point that the US could possibly lose interest in the issue once they are released.
Israel’s efforts to interfere with the negotiations through the leak may have had an effect because the talks are reportedly hitting a snag.
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff attempted to allay Israel’s concerns by saying that the US would push for the release of all the hostages, but added that Alexander and the bodies of the four deceased American hostages are a priority.
“Eden Alexander is very important to us — as all the hostages are — but Eden Alexander is an American, and he’s injured, so he’s a top priority for us,” Witkoff told reporters outside the White House.
Witkoff said the release of Alexander was discussed directly during the talks and expressed regret that the negotiations have not yet been fruitful.
