The news of the first stage of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is "bittersweet" because of the high price that had to be paid for the release of the first three hostages, David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, said on Newsmax Sunday.
"I think the entire nation of Israel and all, all decent people around the world are rejoicing at the notion that three young women who have been held in captivity for 15 months, facing undoubtedly the worst possible treatment [are being released]," Friedman told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend."
Early Sunday, Israeli officials confirmed that Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were set to be released. Gonen was abducted from the Nova music festival and the others were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari is an Israeli-British dual citizen.
"Their freedom is a cause for rejoicing," Friedman said. "But the price is, of course, enormous. I mean, the idea that for three victims of terror, Israel has to release 90 terrorists is completely asymmetrical. People say to me, 'Is this a good deal?' and of course, it not only is it not a good deal, it's an obscene deal, but it's the price that Israel is willing to pay to release its citizens."
Israel, he added, is "one big family" and the fact that Hamas has been holding hostages since Oct. 7, 2023, is an "open wound on Israeli society that demands healing."
The deal also could not have been completed until President-elect Donald Trump was elected, he said.
"We see how implacable Hamas is, how inhumane they are," said Friedman. "But at the end of the day, for today's purposes at least, we can rejoice at the idea that three suffering young women will be reunited with their families, which is, of course, an extraordinary development."
Meanwhile, Friedman said he's "very skeptical" that the ceasefire deal will result in more than a release of some hostages, so it's not a peace deal.
"I don't view this as having any long-term consequences," he said. "Hamas is going to be Hamas tomorrow and the next day. They are going to continue to demand the destruction of the Jewish people. The only solution to Hamas is to destroy them."
Friedman added that he believes Trump and his incoming administration is "open-eyed about where we are."
"Hamas, at the end of the day, can never survive," he said. "They can never rule the Gaza Strip. If they do, we will be in a perpetual state of war."
Israel, though, "is strong" and will be even more powerful with Trump in office, the former ambassador said.
"The alliance between Israel and the United States will be stronger, so I think enormous opportunities are going forward for peace, for the expansion of the Abraham Accords, hopefully in a way that maintains Israel's sovereignty over all of its biblical homeland," said Friedman. "I think these are all achievable … I am optimistic about Israel's future."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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