Herb Keinon
Jerusalem Post, Jan. 5, 2025
“Why there hasn’t been a unanimous chorus around the world for Hamas to put down its weapons, to give up the hostages, to surrender – I don’t know what the answer is to that.”
The way US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his swan-song interview with The New York Times some three weeks before leaving office was predictable: The Biden administration he served left America better placed around the world than when it came into office.
“Today, as I sit with you, I think we hand over an America in a much, much stronger position, having come through the economic crisis, having come through the health crisis, and having changed much for the better [of] our position around the world because we made those investments in alliances and partnerships,” he said in a message approximating what every secretary of state says when they leave office.
But his comments in the interview Saturday were not all that predictable when nearly 20 minutes of the 50-minute conversation turned toward Israel, Hamas, and Gaza.
Here are some key takeaways:
Netanyahu not to blame for no hostage deal
Among certain segments of the Israeli public, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the reason the hostages are still languishing in Hamas’s tunnels. If he only really wanted their freedom, they would be released.
Yair Golan, chairman of The Democrats party, gave voice to this sentiment in a KAN Reshet Bet interview Sunday morning. “Israel does not want an agreement; the prime minister of Israel does not want an agreement,” he said. “Netanyahu could have reached an agreement three or four times for sure; he dismissed this, he lies to the press, he leaks reports to Bild. All kinds of shameful tricks and games. He should stand up before the citizens of Israel and say, ‘I don’t want to free the hostages, I have political pressure, I can’t do it.’ He should tell the truth for a change.”
Ah, the truth.
In a situation where secret negotiations are ongoing for months, it is difficult to say what the “truth” is.. …SOURCE