Trump envoy pressed Hamas to release US hostage right before State of Union address – report

Direct talks took place between then-special envoy Adam Boehler and Hamas officials Taher al-Nono, Basem Naim and Osama Hamdan.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Trump Administration negotiated with Hamas directly to secure the release of the last surviving American hostage, Edan Alexander, coinciding with the president’s State of the Union address in March, according to The New York Times.

When no deal was made by March 5, Trump mentioned the hostages in just one sentence during his address.

Direct talks took place between then-special envoy Adam Boehler and Hamas officials Taher al-Nono, Basem Naim and Osama Hamdan.

Boehler was dismissed following the negotiations, which were controversial because they contradicted US policy of not speaking directly with terrorist organizations.

In addition, Jerusalem was displeased with the direct talks, particularly because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed of the negotiations only after the fact, contrary to the insistence of US officials that Israel was fully informed of the matter.

While negotiations were going on between Boehler and Hamas officials, similar talks were held between Hamas and Israel through Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators on extending the ceasefire. When those talks fell apart, Israel’s military renewed its operations in Gaza.

Boehler met with senior Hamas politburo official Khalil al-Hayya, who said that although the price for releasing Edan Alexander was 500 Palestinian prisoners, he was willing to demand only 250, including 100 who were serving life sentences.

When Israel discovered the offers and counteroffers made directly between the US and Hamas, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer had strong words for Boehler and the administration. The next day, Israel leaked information about the talks to sabotage them, according to the report.

The US decided against informing Israel of the meeting between Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Hamas ahead of time because a similar meeting had been canceled previously due to opposition from Israel.

In addition to the release of Alexander, the negotiations were for the return of the bodies of four deceased American hostages:  Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai and Judith Weinstein.

Israel was reportedly concerned that the Trump administration would lose interest in the issue once the American hostages were released.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steven Witkoff attempted to allay Israel’s concerns by saying that the US would push for the release of all the hostages, adding, however, that Alexander and the bodies of the four deceased American hostages were a priority.