Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley pushed for the United States to save the hostages still detained by Hamas, arguing doing so is “priority number one.”
Haley was asked about comments made by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who said Wednesday that a deal between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group to release the hostages is “close” and that it comes down to Hamas committing to this deal. In assessing the situation, Haley noted how the U.N. is attempting to pressure Israel into making a deal without mentioning the hostages under Hamas.
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“Priority number one: we have to get it,” Haley said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. “They’ve suffered long enough. I think that any country that fights this, pushes back, there is no basis for that. But Iran is weak. Let’s move while we can. Let’s get those hostages home. Iran doesn’t have a leg to stand on.”
Haley added that Hamas currently has no room to compromise “at this point” on reaching a deal with Israel and that releasing the hostages is ultimately “their decision.” She then called to “push hard” to reach a deal since Iran “can’t back them up anymore.”
The former U.N. ambassador also addressed the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, arguing it provides a prime opportunity for the United States to negotiate peace in the Middle East. She stressed how the top priorities to achieve this include being in communications with Turkey and the U.S.’s Arab allies, putting pressure on Iran, and removing the nuclear production sites.
“Turkey wants to do it, Israel wants to do it, the U.S. would want to do it, and some of the Arab countries would want to do it,” Haley said.
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Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Assad’s ousting as a “historic day that creates new opportunities for Israel,” adding that Israel would not allow any “hostile military force to be stationed on our borders.” Assad’s fall comes 14 months after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and one month after President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
Since defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump has warned Hamas that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released prior to his inauguration in January 2025. The president-elect’s warning was welcomed by the hostages’s families, who contended Trump could be “a game changer” in releasing their family members from captivity.
