Herzog says Hamas refusal responsible for failure to reach hostage deal

At the start of his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, President Isaac Herzog puts the blame squarely on Hamas for the failure to reach a hostage deal.

“People have to understand it starts with a refusal of Hamas to move forward,” says Herzog.

“We are simply still very hopeful that we can move forward in the negotiations that are held by the mediators,” he adds, thanking the United States, Egypt, and Qatar for their efforts.

“There is no greater humanitarian objective, and there’s no greater humanitarian cause than bringing back our hostages home as they should have returned long ago,” Herzog continues.

Herzog also thanks US President Joe Biden for “showing and projecting power in this region” in the face of Iranian threats.

“You’ve amassed a very powerful and impressive coalition of armies, navies, and powers that are here to protect the interests of the coalition of nations that wants to move towards peace and a better future in the Middle East, against the empire of evil, which starts and emanates from Tehran,” says Herzog.

Speaking after Herzog, Blinken calls it “a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.”

However, he does not place the blame on Hamas: “It’s time for it to get done. It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process. So we’re looking to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line, or for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity.”

“It is time for everyone to get to yes and to not look for any excuses to say no,” stresses Blinken.