Hamas knows that it will be in a weaker position on negotiations once President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week, so it is "negotiating furiously" to see what it can get out of the last days of President Joe Biden's administration, former NATO ambassador Kurt Volker told Newsmax Sunday.
"Trump is going to hold Iran directly accountable for the actions of its proxies in the region, and I think he is willing to use whatever force is necessary against Hamas and against others if they do not comply and if they do not get the hostages back," Volker said on Newsmax's "Sunday Report."
Trump has promised that "all hell will break loose" if Hamas does not release the hostages it continues to hold before he takes office.
While Volker said Sunday he doesn't know whether the hostages will be freed before Inauguration Day, scheduled for Jan. 20, "you will see a much stronger push from President Trump, including the willingness to use military force."
Volker also on Sunday commented on reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely won't attend Trump's inauguration.
The prime minister has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on allegations of war crimes, and Volker said the charges are "exactly the kind of thing the United States was always worried about with the ICC, that it would be exploited against those who are actually standing up to fight for freedom and democracy."
"This indictment actually weakens the ICC substantially," said Volker.
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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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