Adam Boehler, the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, on Sunday said he personally initiated contact with Hamas, and more meetings could take place if enough progress is made.
“I reached out to Hamas,” Boehler told The Jerusalem Post in an interview, adding that direct engagement is not a concession, but rather a necessary step.
“We don’t think meeting somebody is a concession,” he said. “That’s not what a concession is. Giving $1 billion, like the prior administration did, more than $1b. to Iran, that is a concession.”
Boehler alluded to the possibility of additional talks.
“I think it depends quite a bit where things go,” he said. “I think if things are actually, actually on the right track, I have some hope for where this can go. And I think if it follows the right track, that would be great. I think there could be other meetings, even as it goes on the track, just to make sure that things stay on the right track.”
Tensions between the US and Israel over the talks
Boehler’s direct engagement with Hamas sparked concerns within the Israeli government, leading to what was described as a tense conversation with Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer last Tuesday, who has close ties with the Trump administration and has a key role in the negotiations.
Dermer, who is a close adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, strongly objected to the decision to conduct direct negotiations with Hamas without preconditions.
Israeli officials said Jerusalem had previously advised Washington against engaging in direct talks with the terrorist group. Boehler defended his approach, however, saying dialogue is crucial to achieving results.
“Ron explained to me some of his concern,” he said. “I said that I understood the concern. I don’t live right now in a country that is surrounded by people that want that country not to exist. So, for him to get frustrated or concerned when I’m engaging, I think it’s totally normal.”
Boehler insisted that his engagement was in Israel’s best interest. “I hope, based on my engagement, that he knows me a little bit better and knows that I don’t take Israel’s existence as nothing,” he said. “I always believe it’s threatened. I love the country. It’s a great ally, and I would never do something to hurt it. I hope what he takes is that I need to engage, because there are people that I love, that you love, that we worry about every single day.”
The hostage negotiations and US strategy
Securing the release of the remaining 59 hostages – both American and Israeli – remained the top priority, Boehler said.
“The job is to work and keep working and do whatever is necessary to remove and bring home our hostages,” he said. “The president [Donald Trump] has made it very clear that that job includes the Israeli hostages as well as the American hostages.”
Despite the stalled negotiations, Boehler pushed back on the idea that the talks had failed.
“I think that a conversation and a dialogue is very important,” he said. “I can’t say whether [the talks] failed or whether they didn’t fail. I’m happy to see folks in Doha this week, because I think dialogue is where you get places. It doesn’t mean you give things up, but dialogue is where you get places. And so I think they might be hard-pressed to say it failed based on that. But honestly, I’m hopeful that I was helpful to them.”
Boehler also stressed that the US does not provide financial incentives in negotiations. “What you’ll see is the United States does not give money to people,” he said. “The United States uses a strong hand when we have people that have our citizens, and that includes allies like Israel. So we’re not going to get pushed around, I can tell you that, but we are going to get our people back.”
A vision for resolution
Despite the complexities of the situation, Boehler remained optimistic about a possible resolution, citing a shifting geopolitical reality.
“I’m optimistic,” he said. “And I know that sounds odd, because it’s gone on for a while. But the reason I’m optimistic is because… Trump was elected. It changed everything in the region.”
Boehler attributed the reshaping of the landscape to the IDF.
“Between that and all of the unbelievable work that Netanyahu and Israel has done in destroying Hezbollah, in weakening Syria, in what they’ve done in Iran, all of these things have created a different Middle East than we had before,” he said.
Boehler outlined a possible framework for a deal: that Hamas lay down its arms in exchange for prisoner releases, leading to a long-term truce.
“I think there’s an answer here, and I think the answer is that Hamas lays down their arms,” he said. “We exchange prisoners, and they go into a long-term truce, where they don’t fight, they’re not part of any political party, and that gives us lots of cooling-off time.”
Resolving the situation cannot be limited to negotiations, and it must include a broader effort to rebuild Gaza, Boehler said.
“We’ve got to – we can’t just have rubble,” he said. “And so I think all those things can happen. And I think Hamas, at this point, is somewhat realistic about what is possible.”Israelis should remain unified, Boehler said.
Message to Israelis
“Stay unified right now the best you can,” he said. “In history, you see very strong leaders, and the strongest leaders, the ones that become great, are the ones that move over to achieve a lasting peace. And I think that your prime minister now has the ability to prove that it’s not just war, but he’s the one that brings peace.”
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