US hostage envoy Adam Boehler told journalist Jake Tapper on CNN’s ‘State of the Nation’ on Sunday that his direct talks with the Hamas terrorist organization were “very helpful” and that he believes a deal to free all of the hostages from Gaza captivity could be reached “within weeks.”
Trump envoy Adam Boehler says he sat down and negotiated with Hamas ‘terrorists’ and ‘antisemitic murderers’ because President Trump wants to bring peace to the region contrary to U.S. policy not to negotiate with terrorists, says his job is to sit down with good and bad people. pic.twitter.com/yyOIgnnzlr
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 9, 2025
For decades the United States has refused to negotiate with foreign terrorist organizations, a policy similar to that of Israel.
Boehler said he understood the consternation and concern expressed by Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer about his direct contact with Hamas, but emphasized he was focused on jump-starting the months-long negotiation process, during which Hamas has repeatedly refused to make any concessions.
“We’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel,” Boehler said. “We have specific interests at play, and we did communicate back and forth … What I wanted to do is jump start some negotiations that were in a very fragile place. And I wanted to say to Hamas, what is the end game that you want here?”
The envoy described his vision of what a final deal with Hamas might look like.
“I think you could see something like a long-term truce where we forgive prisoners, where Hamas lays down their arms, where they agree they’re not part of the political party going forward; I think that’s a reality — it’s real close,” Boehler said.
“I think something could come together within weeks… I think there is a deal where they can get all of the prisoners out, not just the Americans.”
In a separate interview the same day with Israel’s KAN News public broadcaster, Boehler said that Hamas “suggested exchanging all prisoners, and they suggested a five year to ten year truce, where Hamas would lay down all weapons, and where the United States would help — as well as other countries — ensure that there are no tunnels, there’s nothing taken on the military side, and that Hamas is not involved in politics going forward.”
שליחו של טראמפ לענייני חטופים חושף בריאיון לכאן חדשות פרטים חדשים על העסקה עם חמאס | הריאיון המלא ישודר ב-#חדשותהערב בכאן 11@TaliMoreno_ pic.twitter.com/PAnmREvll7
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 9, 2025
Boehler told the Israeli news outlet his “optimistic” belief that a deal could be reached “in weeks.” Boehler explained he is holding dialogue with Hamas to understand where they want to be in 5 or 10 years from now
Today’s interviews were very different than the ones Boehler gave just 2 weeks ago.
It bears repeating that “exchanging all prisoners” would include the release of thousands of bloodthirsty terrorists incarcerated in Israel, among them hundreds of murderers who will undoubtedly attack Israelis and murder again, in exchange for the 59 innocent hostages — including the bodies of at least 35 who have already been murdered by the terrorists — still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
Even former Ambassador David Friedman was shocked by the report of talks with Hamas.
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.
If I heard @aboehler correctly on the Sunday news shows, he took the unprecedented step to meet with…
— David M Friedman (@DavidM_Friedman) March 9, 2025
As for the likelihood that Hamas would actually lay down its weapons during any ceasefire: one has only to remember the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, both of whom fell in Gaza during a “ceasefire” with Hamas towards the end of the 2014 summer war, abducted by the terrorists as a bargaining chip and held for more than 10 years. Goldin’s body has yet to come home.
