Today, Hamas releases the only American hostage, Edan Alexander. The release comes as a result of a post-channel dialogue between the United States and terrorist groups before Donald Trump arrived in the region this week. The president announced the news on social media not a one-off event, but to "end this cruel war and return all the hostages of living people to their loved ones." Israel was not involved in the process, according to axisnegotiations can only be understood through its intelligence services.
Some reports have shown that disconnect as a gulf between Trump and Israel. But this is a misunderstanding. The gap between the president and Israel is not like between the president and the Israeli leader. Most Israelis support what Trump does and oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach to the war on Gaza.
This dynamic is evident from the emotional moments that occur in the air. Earlier today, Adam Boehler, a special envoy to Trump's hostage reaction, flew to Israel with Alexander's mother before his son was released. In an unusual move, Boller speaks on a commercial flight on the intercom. "President Trump told me to go back to every hostage, every Israeli, he wasn't kidding," Boller told the passengers. "And I hope you know this is the beginning. We're following every hostage that exists everywhere in Israel. We're coming for everyone, because the bonds of Israel and the bonds of America have never been so strong." The people on the plane applauded.
This reaction is not surprising. Over the months, polls have shown time and time again that about 70% of Israelis support a deal to free hostages who continue the war. The problem is that Netanyahu is politically a view of radical minorities, not only trying to escalate the conflict but also want to remove racialized Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and replace them with Jewish settlements. Without the far-right parties pushing this result, Netanyahu's coalition government would collapse.
Trump knows that most Israelis want to end the war with diplomacy, not just because he and his team can read the polls. Back in March, the president met with the hostages released during the previous ceasefire and they reportedly asked if they would support another hostage deal. Their answers were not officially disclosed, but most of the people who met with Trump were rallying for a new hostage deal, far from being alone. The latest survey by the Israeli National Security Institute found that 69% of Israel support "end the war in exchange for a deal to return to all hostages"; only 23% object.
Any agreement requires the release of infamous terrorists from Israeli prisons, but it is the price the public is willing to pay. Back in 2011, 79% of Israelis supported the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including the cruel murderers such as future architect Yahya Sinwar, who was massacred on October 7 in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier. It is essential for the spirit of Israel that no one is left behind because the people of the country know that the world has been willing to give up the fate of the Jews throughout history. One can see this prospect as lofty, narrow or myopic, but it is reality, and Trump puts himself on its side and the Israeli side.
Netanyahu hasn't. Although diplomacy reflects Israel’s preferences and American interests, the Prime Minister cannot pursue it directly because his far-right coalition rejects it. So it seems that Trump and his envoys Boehler and Steve Witkoff decided to force the issue, knowing that Netanyahu might have to go with any suggestions Trump has made, because he has nowhere to go. In the past, Netanyahu was waiting for the Democratic president and relying on allies of American rights to run for him on the cover of his run. But with Trump, he has no such choice.
Netanyahu also has no public approval. The Prime Ministers' League received only 48.4% of the vote in Israel's last election. More than 70% of the public hope Netanyahu will resign now or after the war. The INSS survey found that 76% of Israelis had little confidence in the current government, which has failed in the polls since October 7.
Today, Israel is a tired war society, hoping to bring its people back, rather than promoting an extremist expelling Gazans and occupying stripteases indefinitely. Only 20% of Israelis support Jewish settlements in Gaza, where only 16% of Israeli military governance.
Given these realities, Trump is likely to know that his Israeli counterpart is a paper tiger lacking universal legitimacy. The question is: How far will he work? Currently, Alexander's negotiations are compared with the subsequent push of the final hostage and ceasefire deal by Netanyahu and Trump's team, which shows that the administration has chosen one side - the Israeli majority.