Trump ‘wasting time’ by negotiating with Hamas, says ex-ambassador

David Friedman, who served as the president’s envoy to Israel during his first term, makes a rare public criticism of  Trump over his decision to hold direct talks with Hamas.

By World Israel News Staff

A former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Trump loyalist voiced a rare public criticism of the Trump administration over the weekend, chiding the White House’s decision to engage in direct talks with the Hamas terror organization in a bid to return American hostages held by the Gaza group.

On Sunday, former ambassador David Friedman, who represented the first Trump administration in Israel and in the past had served as an attorney for Donald Trump, penned a tweet responding to comments by Adam Boehler, a businessman tapped to serve as Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs.

Boehler spoke to multiple media outlets in the United States and Israel on Sunday after a dustup with senior Israeli officials following revelations that Boehler had reached out to Hamas to initiate negotiations for the return of American hostages held in Gaza.

Downplaying the rift with Israel, which was reportedly kept in the dark on the talks, Boehler claimed in an interview with CNN Sunday that Hamas is prepared to disarm.

Hours later, however, Friedman took aim at Boehler’s talks with Hamas, calling the effort a “waste of time.”

“This past week, President Trump brilliantly presented Hamas with a binary choice: release all the hostages and surrender, or be destroyed. It is the only path to ending the war,” Friedman wrote.

“If I heard Adam Boehler correctly on the Sunday news shows, he took the unprecedented step to meet with Hamas to consider a third way — whether a deal could be struck where Hamas ‘would not be involved’ in governing Gaza.”

“A deal with Hamas is a waste of time and will never be kept. Attempting one is beneath the dignity of the United States. Adam, I know you mean well, but listen to your boss. The choice must remain binary.”