Donald Trump‘s decision to negotiate directly with Hamas to bring about the release of Edan Alexander, the last remaining living hostage who holds joint Israeli-US nationality, is another indication that the US president is losing patience with Israel‘s never-ending Gaza war.
It remains to be seen if this is a one-off move or the start of a renewed US push to clinch a ceasefire and hostage release deal that could derail Israel’s plans for a massive military operation in Gaza in the coming weeks. An Israeli delegation will travel to Qatar for more talks on Tuesday.
There was joy and relief across Israel at the release of another hostage after almost 600 days in the Hamas tunnels, but renewed criticism from critics of the government of prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu for failing to prioritise the release of the hostages over the military defeat of Hamas.
Alexander’s release led many to conclude that a self-serving US president cares more about the hostages than Israel’s own leadership.
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The fact that Alexander was released because he had a second passport has raised the question among some Israelis over whether they ought to possess foreign citizenship as well, just in case something bad happens to them.
David Medan, a former Mossad official working for the release of hostages, said the release of Alexander was a cause for celebration but also a disgrace for the Israeli government. “It has never happened before in Israeli history that a hostage has been released because the country that he belongs to, whose passport he holds, is effectively the one that negotiates behind the Israeli government’s back and does the work.”
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, who Israel believes was held together in captivity with Alexander, delivered a scathing attack on Netanyahu. “If Matan gets left on his own in the tunnel, it means that Netanyahu has decided to murder my child. Instead of freeing all the hostages, he has become my own private angel of death. Matan, my love, the prime minister has decided to sacrifice you along with other hostages,” she said.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid described the direct talks between Hamas and the United States as a “disgraceful political failure of the Israeli government and the prime minister”.
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Political commentator Tal Schneider described the release as another hammer blow by Trump on Netanyahu’s head. “There isn’t any other way to understand it. The administration knows perfectly well in what kind of light this casts the Israeli government’s attitude towards its citizens and soldiers. This is being done to save Edan, but it is also a sharp message from Trump to Bibi [Netanyahu]: end this already.”
