Deal with Hamas possible within weeks, US envoy Boehler says, but ‘it’s not like Hamas got the world because I thought they were a bunch of nice guys’

US hostage envoy Adam Boehler defends his direct talks with Hamas terror group officials, amid private but intense criticism from Jerusalem, saying, “We’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel.”

Boehler, who held several secret meetings with Hamas before Israel learned about it and the talks were leaked to the press, also claims that a deal to release all of the hostages could be reached within weeks. “It was a very helpful meeting,” he says.

Boehler is asked on CNN what it was like for him, as a Jewish American, to sit down with “antisemitic murderers.” In response, he says that his job requires him to have dialogue “with anybody, and that includes a lot of people that I would classify as not so good people, to help other Americans.”

Sitting with people like Hamas, he goes on, when “you know what they’ve done, it’s hard not to think of it.” However, that’s not “the most productive” approach, he says. “The most productive [approach] is to realize that every piece of a person is a human and to identify with the human elements of those people and then build from there. But it definitely feels a little odd knowing what they really are.”

He confirms that “of course” President Donald Trump signed off on his talks with Hamas ahead of time.

He says he understands why Israel might be upset over the talks, saying he has spoken to Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer about the contacts.

“I do understand” why the Israelis might be upset, he says. “I spoke with Ron, and I’m sympathetic. He has someone that he doesn’t know well, making direct contact with Hamas. Maybe I would see them and say, ‘Look, they don’t have horns growing out of their head. They’re actually guys like us. They’re pretty nice guys’,” Boehler says, apparently referring to Hamas.

“He doesn’t know me, and there are big stakes,” Boehler says of Dermer. “He lives in a country where, if it sets certain precedents, then it will hurt or help a lot of other people.”

Therefore, “I understand the consternation and the concern. I wasn’t upset. At the same time, we’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel. We have specific interests at play. We did communicate back and forth. We had very specific parameters which we [followed],” Boehler says.

What he wanted to do, he says, “is jumpstart some negotiations that were in a very fragile place.”

He adds that he “wanted to say to Hamas, What is the endgame that you want here? Not the dream endgame, but what do you think is realistic at this point.”

But he says Israel does not think that his interaction with Hamas will sway the talks against Israel.

“Israel knows walking out of that, that it’s not like Hamas got the world because I thought they were a bunch of nice guys,” he says.

Speaking of chances for a breakthrough following the meetings, Boehler says, “Something could come together within weeks. There is enough there to make a deal between what Hamas wants and what they’ve accepted, and what Israel wants and it’s accepted.”

“I think there is a deal where they can get all of the prisoners out, not just the Americans,” he adds. Hamas says the talks with the US are centered on only those hostage holding American citizenship.

He takes a moment to recognize the American hostages, but mispronounces the name of Edan Alexander, the sole living American hostage, as Adi.

“With respect to the Hamas situation, I do think there’s hope. I think that Israel has done a wonderful, masterful job eliminating Hamas, Hezbollah, a number of other enemies that makes things possible that weren’t possible before,” Boehler adds.

“You could see something like a long-term truce where we forgive prisoners, where Hamas lays down their arms, where they agree that they’re not part of the political party going forward. I think that’s a reality that’s real close,” he says.

Asked if he’ll meet Hamas again, Boehler responds, “You never know. Sometimes you’re in the area, and you drop by.”