U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and met with families and supporters of the remaining Israeli captives, praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his role in securing the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday.
Witkoff’s public praise came after unverified second- and third-hand reports over the weekend that he had criticized Netanyahu for prolonging the war by continuing to fight Hamas. The reports, widely circulated in Israel and abroad, caused concern that the Trump administration was abandoning Israel and Netanyahu in its effort to reach deals.
The Times of Israel reported:
Speaking to the parents of slain American-Israeli hostage Itay Chen at Hostages’ Square, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says the release of Edan Alexander was a “stepping stone,” while appearing to praise the efforts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of those in Gaza.
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“The prime minister was strong. He was totally strong for the deal, Ron Dermer was for the deal,” he says.
“I’m telling you, the pressure Bibi put on after the second phase achieved [inaudible], that’s a fact,” he adds.
Netanyahu has credited both the diplomatic efforts of President Trump and the military pressure applied by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for encouraging Hamas to relent in its opposition to releasing hostages, and to release Alexander as a supposed “goodwill” gesture ahead of Trump’s visit to the region. (Hamas has used the release to argue the opposite, and to urge Israel to stop the war.)
Alexander’s release came without any public concessions by Hamas, such as a ceasefire in Gaza or prisoner releases.
Witkoff was accompanied at Hostage Square by U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler, who told families of the hostages in a meeting at the nearby offices of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum that he believed that there was a chance for a broader deal that would see the remaining 50-plus hostages, including at least 20 living hostages, freed. He and Witkoff are traveling to Doha, Qatar, this week, for negotiations that will coincide with Trump’s visit to that country.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
