Latest news with #Boehler
New York Post
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Post
US special envoy for hostage response says ‘Israel is going to take kinetic action' if Hamas rejects hostage deal
If Hamas does not take the proposal on offer to release the hostages in Gaza, 'Israel is going to take some kinetic action,' U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler warned in an interview with CNN on Sunday night. The envoy said he was 'optimistic' that a ceasefire agreement can be reached with the terrorist organization, 'because [U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff] has been leaning in really closely on a deal and he's done it with Israel.' Boehler went on to say that 'post-Israel winning [against] Iran there's a new sense of ability to get something done. The Israelis want something done.' 6 Israeli captive (center), who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah. AP 6 Children looking at rifles displayed by Hamas fighters. AP 6 Israeli captive Eli Sharabi escorted by Hamas fighters. AP When asked what it would take for Hamas to agree to a hostages-for-prisoners-exchange deal, Boehler said that 'these are down to little details. … I would say that Israel at this point is bending over backward; they're redrawing maps. … at this point, what you do, is you say, 'Look, we're going to take this deal, we're going to let at least 10 hostages go…' 'We've got two dead Americans there [in Gaza]. We've got the Chens [referring to the family of U.S.-Israeli dual citizen Sgt. Itay Chen] and we have the Neutras [referring to the family of U.S.-Israeli dual citizen Capt. Omer Neutra]. We have to get those Americans out and we need to get the other hostages out.' The American negotiator further stated, 'Hamas is very hard-headed. They've been offered many things that they should take and it's time for Hamas to release the hostages. So I'm more optimistic than I was, because all those factors are there. We've got an A-team negotiating it. Now what I really want to see is Hamas take action.' Boehler stressed that the current offer is a 'firm pathway to negotiation and peace. That's the best [that Hamas is] going to get and they should take the deal on offer.' He noted that Gaza's Islamic dictatorship has not taken deals proposed in the past, warning that 'every single time they don't take it, it [the terms offered] goes down and goes down and goes down. 'So my recommendation to Hamas would be take the deal that Israel [and] the United States is offering you, let's get some people home, and let's move to end this conflict,' Boehler said. 6 Adam Boehler, senior advisor at the U.S. State Department, hugs Aviva Siegal. Getty Images 6 Boehler stressed that the current offer is a 'firm pathway to negotiation and peace. That's the best [that Hamas is] going to get and they should take the deal on offer.' AP 6 Boehler spoke to CNN on the backdrop of the release of 10 American hostages from Venezuela via a prisoner swap deal between the U.S., the South American country and El Salvador. MOHAMMED SABER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Boehler spoke to CNN on the backdrop of the release of 10 American hostages from Venezuela via a prisoner swap deal between the U.S., the South American country and El Salvador. The special envoy said that the message conveyed by this latest proposal is that it is 'high time that every country realized that if you're holding an American, it's a real problem.' Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Boehler emphasized that Washington will not pay hundreds of millions in ransom, but expects countries to release U.S. hostages unilaterally 'to get in America's good graces.' Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, 49 of whom were abducted to the Strip during the Hamas-led cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. One body of an Israeli officer, Lt. Hadar Goldin, has been held in Gaza since 2014. According to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 50 being held in Gaza include 28 deceased abductees.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Special envoy calls Bukele ‘a good friend' after prisoner swap with Venezuela
U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, called Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele 'a good friend' after he helped secure the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela in exchange for the return of more than 250 Venezuelans that the U.S. had sent to be imprisoned in El Salvador. In an interview on CNN's 'State of the Union,' Boehler said the hostage exchange has been 'months in the works' and is a result of 'a great, unbelievable team, in terms of people on the ground, career people that folks don't ever hear of,' who were 'driving this bus really hard back and forth.' 'The reality here is Bukele had — who's been great — Bukele had a number of people there at CECOT. He made a deal with Venezuela, and then Venezuela released all Americans, and so our portion of that deal was to make sure that all of our boys got home,' Boehler said. CNN's Jake Tapper pressed Boehler on the Trump administration's repeated insistence that it has no influence over Bukele—an argument officials made after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador but has since returned to the U.S. 'Doesn't this exchange show the Trump administration does, in fact, have the ability to work with Bukele and to get people released from this El Salvador prison when they want to?' Tapper asked. 'Well, what it shows is that the president has been very clear. Bringing Americans home is a critical priority. We don't accept when other countries take people,' Boehler responded. 'President Bukele has been a good friend, friend enough to know what's important to the United States, and so we appreciate the fact that he cleared a deal with Venezuela to release these Americans that came home,' he continued.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
US hostage envoy urges Hamas to ‘take the deal' with Israel
Adam Boehler, U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs, on Sunday urged Hamas to 'take the deal' on the table with Israel and to move forward toward peace. In an interview on CNN's 'State of the Union,' Boehler said that the current deal on the table — where Hamas releases at least 10 remaining hostages in exchange for a path to peace — is the 'best they're going to get.' 'We need to get the other hostages out. And then what we have done is, we have said, 'Hey, there's a firm pathway to negotiate peace.' That's the best they're going to get. And they should take on the offer, take the offer that's there. They haven't in the past,' Boehler said. 'Every single time they don't take it, it goes down and goes down and goes down. So, my recommendation to Hamas would be, take the deal that Israel, that the United States is offering you. Let's get some people home. And let's move to end this conflict,' he continued. Boehler said he is 'optimistic' about an agreement with Hamas, especially after Israel's military action in Iran, 'there's a new sense of ability to get something done.' 'The Israelis want something done. Now, I will tell you, because I have been with them, Hamas is very hardheaded. They have been offered many things that they should take, and it's time for Hamas to release the hostages,' he said. 'So I'm more optimistic than I was because all of those factors are there. We have got an A-team negotiating it. Now what I really want to see is Hamas take action. And if they don't, I will tell you something, Israel's going to have to take some kinetic action,' he added. Efforts to reach a 60-day ceasefire have continued in Qatar, but international reports indicate talks have hit a standstill. Trump has increased pressure on Israel to work towards brokering a ceasefire with Hamas. Boehler, in the interview, described Hamas as 'hardheaded' and said 'Israel at this point is bending over backwards' to strike a deal.
Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Aspen forum attendees admit there's no return to a pre-Trump world order
'I have a president and team that backs it up,' Boehler said of his efforts to free Americans. 'It gives me strength. When we decided to make a move, and the president decided to move on Iran for me, getting Americans out — that's going to get Americans out.' Given the administration's limited presence, attendees were forced to wrestle with how to address the president's many changes to foreign policy amongst themselves. The main approach at the conference seemed to be to at least avoid antagonizing team Trump. Much praise was offered for Trump's recent expressions of support for Ukraine and the success of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in deteriorating Tehran's nuclear capabilities. And Trump's overhaul of federal agencies and departments was met with resignation and even some optimism. In informal conversations, there was recognition from some attendees that the State Department was overdue for reform to cut through decades of bureaucracy. The main protest was about the manner in which the cuts were being made. 'They all need reform,' said a former U.S. diplomat who attended the forum of USAID and State. 'There are a lot of challenges with how the bureaucracy is set up, and part of it is because of congressional demands. But this isn't reform. This is just dismantling and shutting down government bodies … and poor treatment of federal workers.' The former diplomat, like others cited, was granted anonymity to speak freely about the conference. Panelists and attendees also embraced the need to rethink the way that the U.S. offers foreign assistance. In one session discussing the future of foreign aid, panelists agreed that the Trump administration's pursuit of access to critical minerals in Africa's Great Lakes region represents an opportunity for alliances with countries that China has looked to court in recent years. 'There are a number of questions that rightfully should be asked, but I wouldn't condemn it outrightly. I think there is an opportunity to be had going down the line,' Comfort Ero, who leads the International Crisis Group think tank, told the audience. Especially on economic questions, attendees and panelists were quick to note that the protectionist tendencies Trump embraces are gaining adherents across the U.S. ideological spectrum. 'It's a big deal that you've now had two presidents of two different parties take a protectionist line,' former U.S. Trade Representative and World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick, said on one panel. 'That is a very big switch in the nature of trade politics.' Some attendees expressed frustration at what they saw as pandering to Trump, saying there was a missing opportunity to have more discussion on the main stage about the potential impacts of Trump's policies and governing style on U.S. democratic institutions and institutions around the world.
Politico
5 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Trump envoy says hostage deal with Hamas is close
'They continue to hold out. Israel continues to kick their ass, and yet they still think they have leverage,' Boehler said. The special envoy also said that were a deal to fall through, it would be because of that hard headedness. Boehler also voiced optimism about the prospect of expanding the Abraham Accords — a series of agreements which saw several Arab countries formally recognize Israel for the first time. Even with Israel's wars across the Middle East in recent years, he said the agreements are holding up, adding that the administration is focused on expanding the agreements. 'The accords that we drove in President Trump's administration the first time, they held strong,' Boehler said. 'It was a totally different Middle East than if we had been in the war years before.' Boehler is the only member of the Trump administration speaking at the annual national security conference this year. Boehler's colleague, Ambassador to Turkey and Syria special envoy Tom Barrack, pulled out of his Friday speaking engagement at the conference at the last minute on Wednesday in light of Israeli strikes against the Syrian capital. More dramatically, the Pentagon on Monday pulled a series of senior military commanders and other Pentagon officials, arguing the conference does not align with the Defense Department's values. A Pentagon spokesperson, Kingsley Wilson, called the officially nonpartisan conference an 'evil den of globalism.' Boehler was not asked about the administration's near-boycott of the event, and he did not bring up the Pentagon's decision to pull its speakers. Asked by a reporter in the audience if the Biden administration should have begun directly negotiating with Hamas earlier in the conflict, he declined to comment. In his response, Boehler also pushed back on the suggestion that the U.S. made 'unilateral' deals with Hamas, saying: 'We always were working with the Israeli side.' Boehler was criticized by supporters of the Israeli government earlier this year for circumventing the Israeli government and negotiating directly with the militant group to secure the release of Edan Alexander, a dual Israeli-American citizen who was taken hostage during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
