It appears that the time given by US President Donald Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “finish the job” in the Gaza Strip is running out, after Adam Boehler, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA), returned to his duties having pulled back following his meeting with Hamas leaders in Doha in March. Boehler praised Hamas’s flexibility in dealing with the captives’ issue, especially the American captive Edan Alexander.
Boehler’s return was linked to the revelation from Hamas that it had lost contact with those holding Alexander after being targeted in an Israeli air strike last Tuesday. This prompted Boehler to declare on Wednesday that he was certain that the hostage was in a safe place: “I hope no hair on his head is hurt, or we’re going to come for them, and it’s not going to be pretty. So, I believe Edan is fine.” This was an attempt to reassure the family of the American captive, who was expected to be released along with the bodies of four other captives last month.
Boehler would not have been able to speak confidently about this were it not for his direct contact with Hamas leaders.
This is not the only reason for Boehler’s return. His involvement in the captive issue, from which he was side-lined after his Hamas meeting, calling the movement’s officials “nice guys”, is taking place due to Trump’s latent desire to de-escalate tensions in preparation for his visit to the Middle East in early May. He is expected to sign several trade deals with regional countries during the visit, most notably Saudi Arabia, including an agreement to transfer civilian nuclear technology to the Kingdom as promised by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. This is in addition to a number of other multibillion-dollar agreements, which the US president needs in order to address his country’s high debt and alarming deficits in the federal budget and balance of trade. This is a huge crack in his defences in the trade war that he is waging against China.
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Moreover, he wants to make a real breakthrough and reach a new nuclear agreement with Iran; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has offered a $4 trillion investment if a nuclear agreement acceptable to Tehran is reached. Such an agreement would move beyond the relationship with Iran to Russia, with which Trump wants to be partners in the efforts to get a nuclear agreement, ensuring that Tehran and Moscow are both distancing themselves from China, or at least limiting their military and economic relations with Beijing.
The partnership could extend to Russia contributing to a Palestinian agreement with Israel to stop the war and aggression against the Gaza Strip, a point that Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted at when he received the Russian captive held by the resistance movement, Sasha Troufanov, on Wednesday. He said that Troufanov’s release was possible thanks to Russia’s stable and long-standing relations with the Palestinian people, their representatives and various organisations. He thanked Hamas, which agreed on a degree of middle ground with Russia in order to fulfil this humanitarian act.
Putin’s statements coincided with the visit to Moscow by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad, where he confirmed Israel’s failure to adhere to the January ceasefire agreement.
When considered alongside the return of US envoy Boehler to the political scene this was probably no coincidence.
Time is running out for Netanyahu, who is facing mounting domestic pressures heading towards undeclared civil disobedience within the occupation state, led by military reservists and academics, doctors and businessmen. This disobedience is exacerbated by the repeated failure of the prime minister’s strategy, and his last-ditch attempt to impose more conditions in the form of disarming the resistance, as well as his criminal bombings and weaponisation of starvation.
Netanyahu must be able to hear alarm bells from Moscow to Washington, where Boehler has perhaps sounded the final warning with his return to the negotiating scene and his call on the parties to reach a major deal in which all prisoners are released in one batch in exchange for a personal guarantee to stop the war. He also hinted at agreeing with the Hamas call for a permanent, rather than temporary or partial deal, voiced by Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi last Thursday. Such an agreement would be possible if the Russians joined and provided their own guarantees, as was the case with Iran in the nuclear agreement.
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Translated from Palinfo,18 April 2025
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.