Donald Trump’s associates are furious: the hostage deal – surrender to Hamas

Senior officials of the Republican Party are raising concerns and misgivings about the conditions of the abductees deal that is taking shape between Israel and Hamas, as was revealed today (Wednesday) in “Jewish Insider”. Despite the pressure of the American president-elect, Donald Trump to achieve a deal before his inauguration, the senators express fear that the emerging conditions will harm Israel’s ability to defend itself and prevent future terrorist threats.

According to the report, the deal that is taking shape, which may be announced soon, includes a 42-day cease-fire during which the IDF will be required to withdraw from the populated areas of Gaza to the edge of the Strip. As part of the deal, dozens of hostages will be exchanged for hundreds of terrorists from Israeli prison, at a ratio of 30 terrorists for every civilian prisoner, and 50 terrorists for every soldier.

The talks for the deal were conducted under the outgoing Biden administration, and collapsed several times in the past year. Negotiations resumed after the November election, with the Biden team ramping up its efforts to secure a deal before he leaves. The terms of the deal have not changed since Trump and Witkoff came into the picture, although the pace of progress increased when the president-elect reiterated last week that “the gates of hell will open” in the region if Hamas does not release the remaining abductees by the time he is sworn in.

Senator Herpolvikai, Ted Cruz told Jewish Insider, that Hamas was interested in prolonging the war against Israel while holding the hostages in appalling conditions, in the hope that the Biden administration would force Israel to surrender. According to him, it was Trump’s threats that led to the promotion of the release of the abductees.” He also added that “the fundamental lesson from the first Trump administration remains as true today as it was four years ago: the way to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East is to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Israeli allies.” Duma, the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune expressed confidence in Trump and Witkoff’s ability to secure Israel’s interests. However, a number of Republicans may be happy to promote the move, but criticize the terms of the deal, or express serious concern about it.

Republicans’ concerns
Behind the scenes, among Republican members of Congress, concern began to bubble that Trump might force them to support a deal that included terms they had opposed for more than a year. Some members of Congress and senior staff have discussed the issue among themselves, but none have taken further steps beyond talking to Trump’s transition team about their concerns.

None of the Republican members of Congress that Jewish Insider spoke to praised or defended the terms of the deal. The few Republican lawmakers who expressed their skepticism publicly pointed to specific details that concerned them. For example, the Republican senator Tom Tillistold “Jewish Insider” that he is “really very doubtful about anything related to Hamas”, and expressed “concern about the very participation of the terrorist organization in the negotiations”.

Criticizing the Biden administration, he said John Cornyn To Jewish Insider that “the Biden administration has not proven itself to be an effective negotiator, period”, and added “I was concerned that he would negotiate poorly, in a manner consistent with all his conduct over the past four years.” But also in relation to the deal involving Trump’s people, Cornyn expressed reservations about some of the terms negotiated under the outgoing administration, pointing to the release of Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons, according to him: “While I welcome the release of the abductees, I fear that in the deal Hamas receives an incentive to capture more abductees so that it can Replace them with other of his prisoners.”

“In my eyes, the foundations of this deal are flawed. My heart goes out to the families who are suffering, but what we are trying to do is also ensure that we close on something that has the strength and ability to persevere, and that will give us certainty that there will be no more groups of people who will suffer,” said one of the Republican senators. “I’m not sure we’re there yet. I don’t know if this deal is practically moving forward, so regardless of what might happen in the final hours of the Biden administration, I believe there will be additional demands that the new administration will have to make,” another Republican said.

“If we don’t get basic concessions like the return of all the abductees or other guarantees, then what do we get from the Biden deal? I don’t see how it’s sustainable if Hamas is still in the picture,” another Republican senator told Jewish Insider. The Republican Senator, Tom Tillis “really is in a skeptical position regarding anything related to Hamas”, in his opinion there should be concern and concern expressed by the very fact that the terrorist organization is even included in the negotiations in question. “I feel they are the wrong people to broker the deal because, in some ways, it means they are part of the future of Gaza. That’s a bad thing,” Tillis told Jewish.

Another Republican, Sen Rick Scott emphasized that he considers the release of all the remaining abductees, and the full surrender of Hamas, critical components of the deal. “I would like all the abductees back and I would like Hamas to lay down its weapons,” Scott said of his conditions for supporting the agreement. “My position is that the way to end this is for Hamas to surrender,” fellow party member Senator Pete Ricketts told Jewish Insider when asked about the deal. “I think it’s up to Israel to decide how it should work. It’s a matter of Israel’s security.” In other words, it is a mistake to impose an American view on how it is right for Israel to conduct itself with Hamas, even within the framework of discussions for the release of the kidnapped.

Stronger remarks were received from most Republicans when they were given the option to speak anonymously. In their opinion, the negotiations on the deal should be renegotiated, or alternatively cancel it completely. What is certain is that, in its current form, those in Trump’s party do not like it. Two sources told Jewish Insider that Trump’s team has responded to their concerns, arguing that this deal serves as the best means of fulfilling the president-elect’s promise to complete it by his first day back in office. If so, the Israeli citizen will ask, are Trump and his team sure that the current deal is also what is good for Israel, or is it only, or mainly, good for the show of Trump’s entry into the administration.

At the same time, the Republicans who were interviewed for the article, expressed understanding regarding the diplomatic complexity of the deal issue. Most of them do not rule out the deal altogether, but seek to ensure that it will serve Israel’s security interests, and are not sure that this is the case in the current form of the deal.