It Is Biden and Harris Who Are Not Doing Enough to Free the Hostages

 Alan M. Dershowitz; Gatestone Institute

"The message sent by this administration's weakness and lack of will is being heard loud and clear not only by Iran but by our other enemies as well."

 Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a citizen of the United States and Israel who was

murdered by Hamas after being held hostage by in Gaza for almost

 10 months, appears, with his left hand amputated, in a Hamas

propaganda video published on April 24, 2024.

. . ."US President Joe Biden's off-the-cuff, one-word answer — "no"— to the question of whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was doing enough to free Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity and get a cease-fire, will only encourage Hamas to up its demands and refuse to agree to a reasonable deal. So far, it appears as if Hamas, instead of negotiating, has just been saying, "no." The US is reportedly no longer expecting a ceasefire before the November 5 US presidential election.

"Biden's remark sends a dangerous message to Israel's and America's enemies that, by continuing to terrorize and hold hostages, they can turn the Biden administration against Israel.

"Why should Hamas agree to a ceasefire when its refusal is blamed on Israel by the president of the United States? In addition, when Biden blames Israel, he encourages other allies, such as Great Britain, Canada, France and Germany, to do the same.

"Netanyahu responded to Biden's false accusation by quoting Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy CIA Director David Cohen to the effect that it was Hamas and not Israel that was refusing to agree to a ceasefire. Netanyahu cited chapter and verse to document Hamas's rejection of Israeli offers. Biden, however, in election mode, seemed to care more about placating the anti-Israel flank of his party than telling the truth about the complex ongoing negotiations. He blamed Netanyahu alone without even mentioning Hamas. And this was after Hamas terrorists had murdered six hostages, including an American.

"Although Biden did say that the Hamas killers would pay a price for the murders of the hostages, he did not say that Iran— which controls Hamas— would pay any price, including increased sanctions, or worse, unless the hostages, including the Americans, are released, unharmed, immediately.

"It is Biden and Harris who are not doing enough to secure the release of the hostages. They could be doing far more in the way of issuing credible threats — economic and military — against Iran, which has the power to influence Hamas. They should warn Iran that if Hamas harms any American hostages, we will regard that as an attack on the US that warrants a military response against Iranian military targets." . . .