Gershon Baskin reacts to news that IDF mistakenly killed 3 hostages in Gaza.
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"Everyone is under pressure. This is a horrible situation. We need to get the hostages home."@gershonbaskin reacts to news that IDF mistakenly killed 3 hostages in Gaza: pic.twitter.com/Hr6KY3h32D
— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) December 18, 2023
https://twitter.com/i/status/1736746982390026397
MATTINGLY: Joining us now is Gershon Baskin, Middle East director of International Communities Organization. He helped negotiate the release of an Israeli hostage in 2011 captured by Hamas.
We appreciate your time, as always.
My primary question at this point is, is this a different moment? Does the tragedy that transpired late last week change the dynamics for the prime minister and his war cabinet?
GERSHON BASKIN, MIDDLE EAST DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES ORG.: I’m not sure that the prime minister has yet made the decision to put the hostages as a number one priority. It seems that the decision of the government, the prime minister and his defense minister still puts the war effort as the number one priority, but pressure is growing and there is talk for the first time of Israel actually initiating an offer to Hamas. There’s another meeting expected between the head of the Mossad, the head of the CIA and the Qatari prime minister this week somewhere in Europe, and hopefully that will produce results toward a new hostage agreement.
HARLOW: Let’s talk more about that meeting. So, the fact that they’re having a second meeting is obviously progress, but what is Hamas’ impetus to get to the table right now, Gershon? Why would they come?
BASKIN: Hamas is – Hamas is demanding a full cessation of the war. It’s demanding that Israel redeploy its forces away from this — main cities and to releases prisoners who have blood on their hands, as the Israeli calls it, or prisoners who have killed Israelis. This is going to be very difficult for the Israelis to say yes to without even knowing who Hamas is willing to release. Hamas is still holding still civilians, young women, between the age of 20 and 30, as well as senior citizens and wounded and sick people, as well as tens of people who are designated by Hamas’ soldiers. And it’s going to be very difficult for Israel to meet the demands of Hamas.
[06:40:02]
MATTINGLY: Gershon, can you explain the domestic, political calculations right now? There’s a lot of talk, I think when you talk to U.S. officials, that the prime minister’s view on all of this is playing to his base, is playing to his domestic, political considerations, and that kind of wins above all else right now. Do you think that’s an accurate assessment of things?
BASKIN: Right. It seems to many of us, including myself, that the prime minister is putting his own position before the country’s position. His own staying in office when he’s still facing trial for corruption, and he’s directly responsible for what happened on October 7th. Of course, Hamas is the terror organization that attacked Israel, but everything that led up to that attack and to the failures of the Israelis to protect themselves is in the hands of the prime minister. And he’s the only person in the Israeli administration who refuses to take direct responsibility.
There is mounting amount of public pressure on Netanyahu to resign. The big question is, should he resign now or after the war is over? It seems to me that when this war is over, he will be facing his day of reckoning with the Israeli public.
HARLOW: Gershon, “The New York Times” this morning is quoting Nahum Barna (ph), who is a name maybe not familiar to many in the west, but you’re nodding because he’s one of the most well-respected commentators in Israel. And he has been critical of Netanyahu being slow to talk about the deaths of these three Israeli hostages by Israeli forces. And this is what Nahum writes. He called that a war crime, right, because they were waving white flags. And he said, “international law is very clear on the issue.” And he said, “we are at war now and our hearts, all of ours, including mine, are with the soldiers, but nothing good can come of blind love.”
When you hear criticism like that from someone so respected inside of Israel, what does it tell you?
BASKIN: Well, we’re – we’re in a crisis. We’re in the midst of a war. We have a lot of young soldiers who are fighting a war for the first time. They’re – they’re in an urban warfare situation where there are lots of booby traps. They’re all afraid. And they’re very tired. And they responded irresponsibly, illegally, by shooting at people who were surrendering. Even if they were Hamas terrorists who were surrendering, the chief of staff of the Israeli army told the high command yesterday that no one should be shot at when they are surrendering. We should be cautious. We should make sure they’re not booby-trapped, but we should definitely not shoot at anyone who’s trying to surrender.
And here we have Israeli citizens who were – who were — freed themselves somehow from where they were being held and trying to get to safety and instead they were killed by the soldiers. Everyone is under a lot of pressure here. This is a really horrible situation. We need to get the hostages home. That has to be the first priority before the war effort. The war can continue afterwards. And the pressure is growing on the government to recognize that they have a moral responsibility to bring these hostages home.
MATTINGLY: Gershon Baskin, we always appreciate your insight. Thank you.
BASKIN: Thank you.
