The families of American citizens who are being held hostage in Gaza are asking the US to consider making a unilateral deal with Hamas that wouldn’t involve Israel, NBC News reported on Wednesday.
The families made the request on Sunday during a meeting with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, which came after the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages, including US-Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Sources told NBC that the US told the families they would consider “every option” but said they believe a deal with Hamas that includes Israel is still the best approach. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been sabotaging the chances of the deal by continuing to demand Israeli control of the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
After the six bodies were recovered from Gaza, families of the dead hostages said Netanyahu was to blame for their deaths for not reaching a deal. The US has refused to put any real pressure on Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire and continues to ship weapons to Israel to support the genocidal slaughter in Gaza.
It’s unclear whether the US has anything it could offer Hamas to secure the release of the remaining Americans in Gaza. According to NBC, there are four Americans who the US believes are still alive and three others believed to be dead.
The Biden administration has put together a list of prisoners in the US that Hamas might want to see released, but Hamas’s main demands are for a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The US could achieve a full hostage and ceasefire deal by threatening to cut off military aid to Israel, which is vital for sustaining military operations in Gaza, but there’s no sign the administration is considering doing that.
Hamas would probably release all the American and Israeli captives if the US agreed to cut all military aid to Israel.
But there's no profit in saving humanity.
Bingo.
And why on earth would America ever agree to that deal? You are asking for the USA to abandon Israel and give in to terrorists demands. Not happening.
Not abandoning Israel is also giving in to terrorists’ demands.
Gold.
Care to explain? How can abandoning Israel and not abandoning Israel both be giving in to terrorists' demands?
The Israeli regime is a terrorist group. Not abandoning them is giving in to them.
""Not abandoning Israel is also giving in to terrorists' demands.""
genius! OMG this why you are the moderator around here and not any of the rest of us dimwits
Who are the terrorists?
I am not asking the US to agree to terrorists’ demands. Hamas are the good guys. The IDF and the settlers are the terrorists.
Hamas, the IDF, and the settlers are the bad guys.
And there are a bunch of other bad guys, too.
I suppose you also think Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Nat Turner, John Brown, Ho Chi Minh, Lolita Lebron, Amilcar Cabral and Nelson Mandela were bad guys.
And I suspect you think that Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo were the good guys in WW2.
No I don't.
In war, there are no good guys at the policy level.
Good guys are sometimes forced to fight wars.
Wars are sometimes the lesser evil.
The nine policy makers I listed above fought just and necessary wars to resist settler colonialism, slavery, neo-colonialism and apartheid. They were good guys. So is Hamas and Islamic jihad.
i like you Knapp – your head seems to be on straight.
i am glad that you are in charge here.
me? i think that my head is a bit crooked and if i was in charge i would probably ban everybody and kick them the F out of here.
except for Donna Volatile who is an obvious voice for peace and love.
I wouldn’t say I’m “in charge.” My role is janitorial. I didn’t create the site’s guidelines, although I had some input on them. I just enforce them. And they’re very limited in scope.
i am not going to allow you to equate Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Geronimo etc with IDF. really, Nat Turner?
Hamas is the good guys? You got to be kidding.
Comparably speaking, and with 11 months' worth of proof, Israel makes Hamas look like choir boys,
You don't know that. It might be just your wishful thinking that doesn't happen. The label of terrorists has lost all credibility and meanings because of its misuse , abuse and overuse, and double standards and hypocrisy of people like you.
Hamas being labeled as terrorists group was done by the US government. You have problem that take it up with the State Department.
The US government has supported groups that fit very well the US government definition of terrorists but chose to ignore its own rules because these groups worked for the US against regimes the US government opposed. Do not act silly now. You have problems that take it up with the State Department "
The same government that sent 14,ooo 2,000 lb bombs to be used on 2.3 million people packed like sardines on 140 square miles of land?
The US government nor the Israeli government wants to end the war. They are looking to start another war.
What can the USA give Hamas in a deal?
1) stopping the shipment of the munitions used to murder Palestinian women and children.
2) withdrawing from Gaza and the West Bank
3) allowing Palestinians freedom of passage, life, self-governance.
4) In other words, STOP THE OCCUPATION, THE KILLING.
1. Is possible by the USA. Not a good idea, but possible.
2. Since USA is not in Gaza and or West Bank, the USA can not give that in a independent deal with Hamas.
3. Just like your number 2, again the the USA can not give that in a independent deal with Hamas.
4. Same as 2 and 3.
Frick, how 'bout money and weapons ? The USA sold to both sides in WW1 before the risk of loan default to the Allies swayed them to enter in 1917.
Nothing in the trace amounts of American foreign policy morals or ethics still remaining, prohibits profiting off both sides !
Especially if Islam turns out to be "true" – USA best play all sides of Pascal's Wager (which itself is a s**t philosophy anyways). Islam has exactly the same amount & quality of evidence as Judaism for its claims, so double your profits, lads !
You really think that USA is going to give weapons to Hamas? Come up with a real solution.
The USA gave weapons to the NLF in Vietnam — with ARVN as the conduit (“never been fired, only dropped once”). Maybe it didn’t mean to, but it did.
Remember the Iran-Contra Affairs
"The Iran–Contra affair (Persian: ماجرای ایران-کنترا; Spanish: Caso Irán-Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal and more rarely as the Iran Initiative, was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan administration. Between 1981 and 1986, senior administration officials secretly facilitated the illegal sale of arms to Iran, which was subject to an arms embargo at the time.[1] The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua. Wikipedia
Soon after taking office in 1981, the Reagan Administration secretly and abruptly changed United States policy." Secret Israeli arms sales and shipments to Iran began in that year, even as, in public, "the Reagan Administration" presented a different face, and "aggressively promoted a public campaign […] to stop worldwide transfers of military goods to Iran". The New York Times explains: "Iran at that time was in dire need of arms and spare parts for its American-made arsenal to defend itself against Iraq, which had attacked it in September 1980", while "Israel [a US ally] was interested in keeping the war between Iran and Iraq going to ensure that these two potential enemies remained preoccupied with each other". Major General Avraham Tamir, a high-ranking Israeli Defense Ministry official in 1981, said there was an "oral agreement" to allow the sale of "spare parts" to Iran. This was based on an "understanding" with Secretary Alexander Haig (which a Haig adviser denied). This account was confirmed by a former senior US diplomat with a few modifications. The diplomat claimed that "[Ariel] Sharon violated it, and Haig backed away". A former "high-level" Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official who saw reports of arms sales to Iran by Israel in the early 1980s estimated that the total was about $2 billion a year—but also said, "The degree to which it was sanctioned I don't know."[32]
Wikipedia
terrorists kille another American citizen
"A 26-year-old American activist, Aysenur Eygi, has been shot and killed during an anti-settlement protest near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to US and Palestinian officials.
The Israeli military has admitted to firing at the demonstrators and has not said if any other gunmen were present."
https://news.yahoo.com/american-activist-shot-dead-during-125140407.html
Remember
1967: During the hours of attacks on the U.S.S. Liberty, including strafing survivors in the water and onboard boats, 74 American citizens were killed, 171 American citizens were injured. Israel has had no problem with also killing an American citizen, Rachel Corrie, by running a bulldozer over her. Israel has had no problem with an IDF sniper murdering the Palestinian-American journalist. Israel would have no problem with shooting you or I.
"including strafing survivors in the water and onboard boats," Israel never strafe any survivors in the water or on life boats, because the ship was not abandon. In fact the ship sailed under its own power to Malta.
I suggest you read the US Navy court of inquiry report, now declassified, to understand what happen. Pay attention to the confusion going on by both sides.
The US Navy court of inquiry was a total farce.
https://youtu.be/JITBsNMcN8A?si=8z1w2ASFlcg9KZEF
The Navy Court of Inquiry’s investigation proceedings following the incident were held in closed sessions, and the survivors who had been on board received gag orders forbidding them to ever talk about what they endured that day.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/06/no_author/fifty-years-later-nsa-keeps-details-of-israels-uss-liberty-attack-secret/
Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State at the time of the incident, wrote:
"I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations.”
This statement is also available on line for anyone interested in finding it.
Below you will find some of the myriad of information available online for those interested in finding the other side of the story.It guts your claim and Israel,s that this was a tragic accident and that the USS liberty was Armed.It described the attack as an act of military recklessness.
“At the time of the attack, the U.S.S Liberty was flying the American flag and its identification was clearly indicated in large white letters and numerals on its hull. It was broad daylight and the weather conditions were excellent. Experience demonstrates that both the flag and the identification number of the vessel were readily visible from the air. At 1450 hours local time3 on June 8, 1967, two Israeli aircraft circled the U.S.S.Liberty three times, with the evident purpose of identifying the vessel. Accordingly there is every reason to believe that the U.S.S Liberty was identified, or at least her nationality determined, by Israeli aircraft approximately one hour before the attack. In these circumstances, the later military attack by Israeli aircraft on the U.S.S.Liberty is quite literally incomprehensible. As a minimum, the attack must be condemned as an act of military recklessness reflecting wanton disregard for human life.
The subsequent attack by Israeli torpedo boats, substantially after the vessel was or should have been identified by Israeli military forces, manifests the same reckless disregard for human life. The silhouette and conduct of the U.S.S Liberty readily distinguished it from any vessel that could have been considered as hostile. The U.S.S.Liberty was peacefully engaged, posed no threat whatsoever to the torpedo boats, and obviously carried no armament affording it a combat capability. It could and should have been scrutinized visually.
"Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training
.
"
Israel’s Attack on the USS Liberty
A Moment in U.S. Diplomatic HistoryMiddle EastMilitary
Liberty DamageOn June 8, 1967, a Navy intelligence ship, the USS Liberty, was mistaken for an Egyptian warship and attacked by the Israeli military during the Six-Day War.[ [The strafing and torpedo attack left 34 Americans dead and 171 wounded. ]]The Liberty still managed to reach another U.S. vessel despite suffering heavy damage (including a 40-foot wide hole in its side) and was later escorted to Malta for repairs.
Israel’s Surprise War
William Dale
Q: There was a buildup to the war that lasted for weeks and then [Moshe Dayan] was appointed defense minister just before. Was that done deliberately?
DALE: Yes. The United States had thought they had extracted a promise from the Israeli government that they wouldn’t go to war. The Israelis did not consider they had made that promise, and they had no intention of putting off going to war within that period, because they didn’t think that our plan for what they called the Red Sea regatta, the international regatta, warships going up the Red Sea to test Nasser’s claim that he had closed it, the Straits of Tehran, was correct…. The Israelis didn’t think that would work, and they intended to go to war. Once they made up their minds they were going to, they called Dayan back as Minister of Defense. But once they’d done that, that was the signal they were going to war. The only question left was when Dayan would order it to begin….
https://adst.org/2013/06/israels-attack-on-the-uss-liberty/
Survivors reported that all their radio transmissions were jammed, including the international distress frequencies, in violation of international law. They also reported that napalm was dropped on the ship causing fires. Firefighters were then fired upon by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats. Medical personnel administering to the wounded were also fired upon as they frantically treated bullet and burn wounds. The outrages didn’t stop there-when the captain ordered life boats to be launched in fear of the ship’s sinking, the Israeli attackers strafed them, sunk them and then fired and damaged life boats still in racks on the ship.
For their efforts at reporting what they saw, the surviving crew members were labeled antisemites and racists by Israel and its supporters, many in the United States.
The Liberty did manage to get out a distress signal from an antenna strung by a brave crewman while under fire by Israeli aircraft. The USS America (my ship) and the USS Saratoga launched support aircraft, some of which were armed with nuclear missiles. Since Israel had led us to believe that it was Egypt that attacked the Liberty, we were ready to use nuclear weapons on that country. When the Liberty refused to sink, the Israelis cried mea culpa and said it was a terrible “mistake”. The aircraft were recalled by President Johnson, who said, “I don’t care if the ship goes to the bottom, I won’t embarrass our ally.” The planes were recalled when only 6 minutes away from Cairo, while the Liberty was still under attack.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/06/no_author/dont-forget-the-uss-libertys-dead-and-wounded/
Hah! Take a number behind the Israelis still in captivity! Just as Netanyahu couldn't care less about them, absolutely no one in Washington cares about any US citizens dumb enough to be part of the Israel mess.
Not to mention that it's likely at least some of the "US citizens" are actually dual-citizenships who were involved in the Israeli army and hence the occupation.
Let them rot, in that case.
US: No deal because our master bibi said so…!
At this point, Israel has to withdraw from all illegally occupied lands. Netanyahu needs to be arrested in Israel for his Crimes against Humanity. Palestinian Hostages being held by Israel in their prisons, need to be released. Arms/money need to stop funding the State of Israel. Food, Water, Medical Supply Caravans, need to make immediate deliveries to Gaza, then the Israeli Hostages should be returned. Israel LIES, Biden LIES and after 70 years of Illegal Occupation of Palestinian Land, continually BREAKING International Law, murdering Palestinians, torturing them, it has come to "Show Me The Money". Israel/USA need to prove they can do the Right thing by going FIRST. They do their part FIRST and everything else will go smoothly.