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Donald Trump’s administration is at the centre of an international scandal after it became known that US Special Envoy Adam Beller had secret talks with the Hamas terrorist group without Israeli participation. This was reported by Cursorinfo with reference to The Times of Israel and Beller’s interview with Al Jazeera.
According to Israeli officials, Beller acted independently without informing Israel of his plan. In January 2025, he proposed a deal under which Idan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage, was to be released in exchange for 100 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life in Israel.
Beller claimed that his initiative had been agreed with Israel and approved in Washington. However, Israeli sources deny this – it was the lack of coordination that caused a harsh reaction from Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who called the American diplomat’s actions a violation of trust between the allies.
Despite its initial refusal, on 14 May Hamas agreed to the proposal, which also included the transfer to the United States of the bodies of four Americans killed in captivity. However, by that time, information about the negotiations had already leaked to the media, which significantly weakened Beller’s position. As a result, the United States decided to return to traditional mediation through Qatar and Egypt, as part of a parallel initiative by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
In a commentary to Al Jazeera, Beeler said that “Hamas is moving too slowly – not critically, but too late”. He also did not rule out the possibility of resuming direct talks with the group in the future:
“I think it’s possible.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli government is growing concerned about the unauthorised steps taken by US representatives who bypass official channels and meet with terrorists without Israeli approval. According to analysts, this not only violates diplomatic protocol, but also threatens strategic cooperation between the countries in the fight against terrorism and the release of hostages.
