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2025-05-12 Israel-Palestine-Jordan
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Hamas set to free US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander Monday in goodwill gesture to Trump
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[IsraelTimes] Israel wasn’t told in advance about release, which is being made unconditionally by Hamas in hope that US will coax Jerusalem to accept deal to end war in exchange for remaining hostages
Hamas
 ..always the voice of sweet reason...
was set to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday after over 580 days in captivity, with the Paleostinian terror group agreeing to the move as a gesture of goodwill to US President Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
ahead of his trip to the region, hoping that he will in turn coax Israel to sign a deal freeing the remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the war, a US official, a Paleostinian official and a third source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Sunday.
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff called Alexander’s parents Yael and Adi on Sunday afternoon to inform them of the news, a US official said. The Alexanders flew to Israel with US hostage envoy Adam Boehler on Sunday night in order to arrive in time for Alexander’s release. Witkoff was slated to fly to Israel separately from Oman, where he held the fourth round of nuclear talks with Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
on Sunday.
"The entire family is now on the way to Israel," Edan’s father, Adi, told the Ynet news site. "We were completely surprised to receive the call from Witkoff. We knew about the negotiations but not about such a dramatic development."
Boehler himself tweeted that the news of Alexander’s release was a positive step forward, adding: "We would also ask that Hamas release the bodies of four other Americans that were taken." The bodies of slain hostages Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, Gadi Haggai and Judith Weinstein Haggai are among the 59 captives still held by Hamas. Up to 24 of those hostages are believed to still be alive.
Hamas has said it is willing to release all of the hostages at once in exchange for an end to the war, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused such an exchange, arguing that it would leave Hamas in power.
Hamas is hoping that releasing Alexander will be enough to convince Trump to push Netanyahu to accept the trade, the source familiar with the matter said.
The source added that Hamas was assured by a mediator that Alexander’s release "would go a long way" with Trump, who wants to see the remaining hostages released and for the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response ...
to end.
Certain security measures need to be taken in order for the release to move forward, such as Israel halting military operations and drone surveillance of parts of the Strip, as it has had to do in previous releases, a source involved in the process told The Times of Israel.
Alexander, a dual citizen who grew up in New Jersey, was serving in the Israel Defense Forces at the time of his abduction. He was kidnapped from his base during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught that started the war in Gaza.
In a statement, Hamas said the decision to release Alexander came after recent talks with US officials and "intensified efforts to achieve a ceasefire, open border crossings, and allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip."
It did not say when Alexander would be released. The officials who spoke with The Times of Israel said that — contrary to Hamas’s claim — no direct talks were held between the terror group and the US.
Hamas in its statement also said that it was prepared to enter intensified negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement to end the war, establish a mutually "agreed prisoner exchange, and enable Gaza to be administered by an independent professional authority."
Hamas uses the term "prisoner exchange" to refer to the release of hostages in exchange for Paleostinian security prisoners, including Death Eaters convicted of murdering Israelis.
"This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones," Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday evening. "Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!"
Qatar and Egypt welcomed the news in a joint statement, calling it "a gesture of goodwill and an encouraging step toward a return to the negotiating table to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of prisoners and detainees, and ensure the safe and unhindered flow of aid to address the tragic conditions in the Strip."
The US did not brief Israel on the effort to release Alexander until after the deal with Hamas was reached, the source familiar with the details of Alexander’s release told The Times of Israel.
Israel was generally aware that efforts were ongoing, but only knew about them from its own intelligence operations. On Sunday evening, Witkoff updated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer about the development, the US official said.
Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the US had informed Israel that Hamas would release Alexander "without any compensation or conditions," and as a gesture of goodwill to the US.
"The US conveyed to Israel that this move is expected to lead to negotiations for the release of additional hostages, based on the original Witkoff proposal — which Israel has already accepted," said the PMO in a statement, referring to a framework that sources have told The Times of Israel was in fact proposed by Israel, under which around half the living hostages would go free in exchange for an extended truce, with the rest being later freed in exchange for an end to the war.
Israel was making preparations for the potential release, the PMO continued, adding that "according to Israeli policy, the negotiation will take place under fire, with a firm commitment to achieving all the objectives of the war."
Earlier Sunday, multiple reports quoted Netanyahu as telling the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Hamas could release Alexander during Trump’s visit, and welcomed the possibility, adding: "These are very critical days."
Backchannel helped secure release of American-Israeli hostage, sources tell ToI
[IsraelTimes] Witkoff was kept in loop about talks 3rd-party mediator held with Hamas that managed to convince the terror group to free the 21-year-old unconditionally after weeks of pushback.
The backchannel was operated by a non-governmental individual who passed along messages between Hamas’s leadership in Qatar and US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, the sources said, while declining to reveal the identity of the person on the record.
The backchannel was opened last month, with the person urging Hamas to release Alexander unconditionally, telling the terror group that the move would go a long way with the Trump administration and potentially open the door to Washington coaxing Israel to agree to a deal that would bring about an end to the war in Gaza in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages — a trade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until now rejected, arguing that it would leave Hamas in power.
Hamas for weeks pushed back against freeing Alexander unconditionally and presented the third-party backchannel with proposals that would have seen Israel take various steps in exchange for the 21-year-old’s release.
The go-between warned Hamas last week that such offers wouldn’t fly and that time was not on the group’s side, with Israel planning to launch a major operation to gradually re-occupy the entire Gaza Strip once US President Donald Trump wraps up his trip to the region on Friday. Trump will depart on Monday for Saudi Arabia before making stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He is not slated to visit Israel on this trip.
Over the weekend, Hamas informed the go-between that it had agreed to release Alexander unconditionally but wanted Witkoff to know that the step should not be viewed as a one-off, the sources said. Hamas stressed to the mediator that it was ready to work with the Trump administration to secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza with security arrangements in order to ensure a yearslong calm until a final settlement of the conflict is reached, the sources said.
PM’s Office: Israel has committed to safe corridor for Alexander’s release, but not to truce
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Israel has committed to facilitating a safe corridor for hostage Edan Alexander to be released from Gaza back to Israel.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says Jerusalem has made no further promise for a ceasefire or for the release of Palestinian security prisoners.
“The expected release of IDF soldier Edan Alexander [by Hamas] without getting anything in return, will be possible thanks to the determined policy we led, with the backing of [US] President [Donald] Trump, and thanks to IDF troops’ military pressure in the Gaza Strip,” the PMO says.
“We are in critical days in which Hamas is facing a deal that would enable our hostages’ release,” it adds. “Negotiations will continue under fire and amidst preparations for the intensification of the fighting.”
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Posted by trailing wife 2025-05-12 2025-05-12 01:25||
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