Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has sought to negotiate a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Adam Lehrer addresses the latest (apparently failed) proposal at The Scroll with comments from Armin Rosen and Lee Smith (below the break).
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Tablet staff writer Armin Rosen believes that Israel wisely accepted the cease-fire knowing that Hamas would reject it, highlighting the terror organization as a bad actor that can’t be trusted. Ultimately, he says, there’s never going to be any deal in which Hamas agrees to release all the remaining hostages. “There’s been all but 18 months between the summer of 2006 and today where Hamas didn’t have a living Israeli to ransom, torture, and serve as the embodiment of a conquered enemy,” he said. “Hostages are of supreme strategic and psychic importance to them—a dark mirror to the Israelis, in a way.”
Conversely, Tablet contributor Lee Smith worries that by continuing to negotiate with Hamas, the United States is inadvertently conditioning the public to believe that the militant group is a legitimate international actor, potentially diminishing the administration’s credibility on other key policies.
“How do you deport someone for supporting a designated foreign terror organization when you treat a terror organization like a legitimate political body?” Smith asks, continuing:
My understanding is that Steve Witkoff is as loyal to the president as the president is to him. I’m sure he’s doing his best, but these negotiations are a disaster. Every news article, every social media post saying that Hamas turned down a U.S. proposal is a blow to American prestige—which is what happens when you give a terror group an opening to rub America’s nose in the dirt. Trump should end these talks as quickly as possible. An administration that promotes national sovereignty should not be reinforcing globalist norms by dealing with a terror group.
Smith believes that the only viable basis for freeing the remaining hostages, American and Israeli alike, is contained within the president’s March 5 Truth Social post:
