US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew stated that Hamas is to blame for the failure to reach an agreement on the release of hostages, though he also suggested that certain actions by Israel have shifted the focus away from Hamas’ role in the deadlock.
In an interview with Kan 11 News, Lew was asked about the responsibility for the lack of a deal, to which he responded, “As in any complicated situation, depending on what day you ask, you might get a little bit different tone of answer.”
He continued, noting, “Overall, Hamas has been very rigid. In the weeks leading up to the murder of the six hostages, we were seeing no movement at all. We were negotiating where some of the names we were negotiating over were killed on [that] day where the six hostages were killed.”
At the same time, Lew pointed out, “I think that some of the things that the government of Israel has done have distracted attention from the fact that Hamas has been so rigid.”
Lew elaborated on the issue of the Philadelphi Corridor, stating, “Most people think that the Philadelphi Corridor was the biggest issue, because the government here talked about the Philadelphi Corridor. In fact, there was a constructive negotiation on the Philadelphi Corridor that could have led to a phase one deal, and Hamas was rigidly insisting on tougher terms in terms of prisoners and rights to have say over who gets released. They were hardening their position but the world doesn’t necessarily know that because the maps of the Philadelphi Corridor was what they saw. So, I think that the resistance has come from Hamas, in large part, but some of the actions taken by the government of Israel shifted the focus from Hamas in a way that’s not helpful,” he stated.
On the topic of an alleged arms embargo against Israel, Lew strongly rejected the claim, calling such reports “fiction.”
“There was never an embargo. It is a fiction that there was an arms embargo. There’s one munition that we have held, and that is 2,000-pound bombs. Everything else is business as usual. Sometimes business as usual takes a little bit longer than you wanted to because there’s bureaucratic steps that are involved,” he added.
He further clarified, “At the moment, there is only one munition that has been held, and we have approved over $50 billion of arms transfers. The day that the 2,000-pound bombs were held, an aircraft delivered precision-guide munitions. So even on the day that the decision on the 2,000-pound bombs, there was never an arms embargo.”
Lew expressed frustration with the portrayal of the situation, stating, “I’ve bristled when I hear people say there was an arms embargo, because we’ve never been more effective providing for the military needs of an ally, and for people to somehow twist a legitimate difference of view on one munition into a question of an arms embargo, is just a distortion.”
{Matzav.com}
