Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today with Steve Witkoff, the US President's Special Envoy for the Middle East, and Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel. The Prime Minister then spoke with US President Donald Trump. The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his assistance in the release of IDF soldier Idan Alexander.
For his part, the US President reiterated his commitment to Israel and his desire to continue close cooperation with the Prime Minister.
In his meeting with Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee, the Prime Minister discussed the last-ditch effort to implement Witkoff's outline for the release of the hostages before the fighting escalated. To this end, the Prime Minister instructed that a negotiating delegation be sent to Doha tomorrow.
The Prime Minister clarified that the negotiations will only occur under fire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
"This is a very moving moment - Idan Alexander has returned home.
We embrace him and we embrace his family.
This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and President Trump's political pressure. This is a winning combination.
I spoke to President Trump today. He told me: “ I am committed to Israel. I am committed to continuing to work with you in close cooperation to achieve all of our war goals: to release all the hostages and to defeat Hams” It goes together. The things are intertwined."
I was right