'We do not give concessions to hostage-takers because it rewards bad behaviour'
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Transcript
00:00 Hamas is saying it is seeking to extend the current truce should Israel make what it says
00:05 are serious efforts to increase the number of Palestinian detainees freed.
00:10 The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a conversation with the US President Joe
00:14 Biden said he would welcome extending the truce if it led to the release of 10 additional
00:19 hostages each day.
00:21 This all the while saying Israel will resume its campaign once the four-day ceasefire is
00:26 over.
00:28 Biden says Washington is working to get the ceasefire deal extended.
00:32 Let's listen.
00:33 That's my goal.
00:35 That's our goal to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more
00:39 hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza.
00:46 We've seen this is the day by day approach, hour by hour process.
00:51 Nothing is guaranteed and nothing is being taken for granted.
00:55 But the proof that this is working and worth pursuing further is in every smile and every
01:01 grateful tear we see on the faces of those families who are finally getting back together
01:06 again.
01:07 Now, for more, I want to go to Christopher O'Leary, who is a senior vice president for
01:13 global operations for the Sufan Group and a former FBI counterterrorism leader and US
01:18 government director of hostage recovery.
01:22 Welcome to you.
01:23 Your assessment of this hostage takeover underway this weekend.
01:26 This is very much the early stages in terms of the around 240 people being held by Hamas.
01:33 Women and children are being released now.
01:35 What kind of scenarios can we expect concerning those detained who are not women and children,
01:40 of course, for example, Israeli soldiers?
01:43 Well, I think you kind of just highlighted the complexity of this.
01:47 It's a pragmatic approach to continue through this negotiated truce for the next couple
01:53 of days to likely try to extend it a little beyond there to get as many of the hostages
01:58 that Hamas would be willing to release, whether it's wounded, whether it's the elderly, whether
02:03 it's people with medical conditions.
02:06 I think we could extend this with the partnership with Qatar, who's been involved in these type
02:13 of negotiations with the US several times over the last few years.
02:19 But I think we can build on what the early successes are.
02:24 But I would like to caution people, which you just kind of highlighted.
02:28 The IDF soldiers will not be just released by Hamas for many reasons.
02:34 Number one, their currency.
02:36 Number two, they buy time for Hamas to hopefully survive this.
02:42 And then number three, it's protection.
02:44 If Hamas released all of the hostages, Israel, like Egypt did in the past, would just flood
02:50 all of the tunnels underneath Gaza.
02:56 Looking at the role of the United States in all of this, it's trying to extend the ceasefire
03:00 with Israel at the same time saying that this truce could be extended for an extra day for
03:06 every additional 10 hostages freed.
03:08 Now, among the concerns for the US president is the actual detention of American hostages.
03:15 What approach can Washington take in trying to tackle this situation, exert pressure in
03:21 its own way?
03:23 This is a little bit of an unusual hostage situation for the United States.
03:27 Number one, all of these victims are dual American and Israeli citizens.
03:33 So that's problem number one.
03:35 Number two, we have an incredible relationship with the Qataris.
03:40 They've been exceptional partners over the last few years in hostage matters.
03:44 We actually just did a scenario with them, an exercise back in July, trying to prepare
03:50 for a complex international hostage incident that would involve both of us.
03:56 Having said that, these US citizens, I think, will see additional women and children get
04:03 released, but there's also at least one US citizen who's a uniformed IDF member.
04:10 So the US has influence with Israel and some leverage because we support them financially,
04:18 but we don't have control.
04:19 We cannot tell them what to do.
04:21 We can guide and advise and request, but at the end of the day, they are going to pursue
04:27 their national interests, not those of the United States.
04:30 Now, Mr. O'Leary, you have over two decades of service working on counterterrorism investigations.
04:37 Can you give us a historical perspective?
04:39 How do events now, for example, compare to episodes in the past?
04:42 I'm thinking of the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, when Black September, a militant Palestinian
04:50 group held hostages to seek exactly what we're seeing now, which is the release of Palestinian
04:55 prisoners.
04:57 Well, I'll tell you, interestingly, we have, in the last couple of years, tried to create
05:02 an initiative called the Multilateral Fused Response, which was intended to synchronize
05:07 the efforts of Western European nations with the United States, and we actually brought
05:13 the Qataris into this to respond in a synergized way to a complex international hostage matter.
05:20 But we looked at examples such as Munich Olympics, the Achilles Laurel event, TWA 847 in 1985.
05:28 There was no harmony of effort.
05:30 We could never imagine something this monumental and this complex.
05:36 It's important to also point out, and the lack of discretionary targeting on behalf
05:41 of Israel has given them a lot of critics, that they are, you know, it's disproportional
05:49 that they're human rights violations, and that might be true.
05:52 But the taking of hostages is also a human rights violation.
05:56 It's a violation of international law under the 1979 Convention Against Hostage Taking.
06:02 And the reason we do not give concessions to hostage takers is because it rewards bad
06:08 behavior.
06:09 If Israel was not to pursue Hamas and punish them for their activities, if there was just
06:15 a peace agreement, it would only embolden them to do this kind of activity in the future.
06:21 Thank you so much.
06:22 Thank you to you, Christopher O'Leary.
06:23 You are a senior vice president for global operations for the SUFAN Group and a former
06:29 FBI counterterrorism leader and U.S. government director of hostage recovery.
06:33 Thank you to you.
06:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]