Israeli negotiators on Tuesday are set to resume talks on the Gaza ceasefire in the Qatari capital of Doha, along with the US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
The first phase of the deal expired on 1 March, and Israel has since resumed sporadic air strikes on Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians. It is refusing to move on to the second phase of the agreement, which includes a complete withdrawal from the enclave.
But that’s likely not what makes this particular round of discussions all the more pressing.
Hanging over the meetings is the fact that the US now comes to the table having had direct talks with Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organisation in the US since 1997.
Washington – as it has always publicly maintained – does not negotiate with terrorists.
“I think it was a very helpful meeting. It was very helpful to hear some back and forth,” Adam Boehler, President Donald Trump’s hostage affairs envoy, told CNN. He said he had to seize the opportunity because there is a living captive held in Gaza who is an American citizen, as well as four bodies of Americans.
“But I think Israel knows walking out of that, you know, it’s not like Hamas got the world because I thought there were a bunch of nice guys.”
The Israelis were reportedly furious about the meeting – and Boehler, while “sympathetic”, he said, seemed to double down with a remarkable statement that hasn’t been heard from a US administration in decades.
“We’re not an agent of Israel,” Boehler said in that CNN interview.
“We have specific interests at play, and we did communicate back and forth. We had very specific parameters by which we fell. And the reality is, what I wanted to do is jumpstart some negotiations that were in a very fragile place. And I wanted to say to Hamas, ‘What is the end game that you want here?’”
Later speaking to Israeli media, Boehler said Hamas introduced fresh elements toward the ceasefire negotiations: a five to ten year truce instead of a demand for a permanent ceasefire, the offer to lay down its arms, and even have its vast tunnel network demolished.
Read more: Why did the US break with tradition and hold talks with Hamas?
