Former U.S. Army Special Forces operator Jim Hanson said Friday on Fox Business that a statement from Hamas concealed “poison pills” that could derail any lasting peace effort.
Hamas said it is prepared to hand over all remaining hostages and step aside under President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan, provided there is collective agreement among Palestinian factions and approval from Arab and Islamic allies.
Speaking on “The Evening Edit,” Hanson called the group’s insistence on full integration into a future Palestinian governance framework a non-starter and accused Hamas of clinging to an agenda rooted in terror and fantasy.
“There are definitely a couple of poison pills in the Hamas statement. The biggest one is that the end state they anticipate is a unified Palestinian framework with Hamas completely involved. No, that’s not going to be the way it plays out,” Hanson said.
“They need to put down their weapons. They need to renounce their decades-long genocidal attempt to drive the Jews into the sea and accept the fact that the Palestinian people are moving on without them.”
The looming Sunday deadline still stands, Hanson said.
“They don’t seem to have come to that conclusion yet, and they’re acting like they’re reading from some sort of a la carte menu rather than 20 points they need to agree to, or President Trump’s going to give Bibi Netanyahu the green light,” Hanson added.
“I think the deadline will still be in place. I don’t think it’s a shock either that there was a drug boat coming from Venezuela that was turned into flotsam on the surface of the Caribbean right about this time.”
Hanson warned that the terror group still isn’t negotiating in good faith.
“It was a reminder to Hamas that the end state could be rubble doesn’t make trouble if they don’t go ahead and start acting seriously,” Hanson said. “There are legitimate concerns that need to be addressed, and this is not the time they were talking about. You know, they’ll release some hostages and then they’ll get to negotiations about the details.”
Trump said that Hamas must agree to the ceasefire terms by 6:00 p.m. EST on Sunday or face an overwhelming military response. He posted the Friday ultimatum on Truth Social, calling it the group’s “last chance” to avoid destruction.
Palestinians under Hamas control have urged the group to take the deal, hoping to end the chaos and suffering. United Nations’ figures show more than 33,000 people have been displaced in Gaza, with nearly one in four facing severe hunger amid daily mass casualty events.
Under Trump’s plan, Hamas must release all hostages and surrender control of Gaza to an International Stabilization Force. Palestinian technocrats would advise the force, while Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would jointly lead it.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Fox Business)
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