Hamas Rejected U.S. Hostage Deal
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Tuesday confirmed Hamas rejected U.S. President Joe Biden’s hostage deal on May 31.
Hamas “gave us a written response that rejected the proposal that had been put forward by Israel, that President Biden had outlined, that the United Nations Security Council and countries all around the world had endorsed,” Miller told reporters.
On June 12, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Hamas’s June 11 reply to the deal included “not workable” changes, saying, “A deal was on the table that was virtually identical to the proposal that Hamas made on May 6—a deal that the entire world is behind, a deal Israel has accepted. Hamas could have answered with a single word: ‘Yes.’”
If Israel and many countries around the world could agree to the deal and only Hamas could not, that’s a pretty good indication that Hamas is being unreasonable. It knows that once its hostages are released, it loses all leverage, so Hamas will continue asking for the moon and stars for the return of innocent victims, a large number of which likely have not even survived their captivity. The safe return of the hostages remains paramount, but the elimination of Hamas remains necessary for Israel’s long-term security.
