Dem Rep. Sherman: Hostage Deal Shows Ceasefire Advocates Were Wrong, They Wanted Israel to Get Nothing

During an interview with Bloomberg’s “Sound On” on Tuesday that took place before Israel’s Cabinet officially approved the hostage agreement with Hamas, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) stated that the deal shows that people who called for a “ceasefire without any hostage release turned out to be wrong,” because we’ll get a pause with the release of some hostages held by Hamas but the ceasefire advocates wanted a ceasefire without any hostages being freed.

Sherman said, [relevant remarks begin around 28:00] “Israel, being a democracy, is certainly very vulnerable when hostages are taken. The overwhelming political pressure is to get the hostages back. When this happened, I was not sure they would get any of them back.”

He added that who Israel releases as part of the deal is important and that a five-day ceasefire would make sense, and “It’s a chance to resupply and to provide humanitarian aid, and I think it shows that those who called for a…ceasefire without any hostage release turned out to be wrong, because we’ll get the five-day ceasefire with the hostage release.”

Sherman further stated, “This will make it more difficult for Israel to achieve its military objectives. It will create more danger for Israel[i] Defense Forces soldiers. But, if 50 hostages are released. I think that’s a decision Israel will make.”

He added that “to get a meaningful peace agreement, Hamas would have to renounce its own charter and say that it wants to live alongside Israel, rather than their current charter, which calls for them to kill every Jew between the river and the sea, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. … I don’t know how long a second ceasefire would last, nor do I know how that would impact Israeli military operations. But, ultimately, Hamas cannot be left in control of Gaza. And, being a democracy, Israel will make extraordinary concessions, even concessions dangerous to its own military, in order to get hostages out.”

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