Hamas Offers Trump Advice to Save Israel From 'Ominous Demise'

A senior official of the Palestinian Hamas movement has issued former President Donald Trump some unsolicited advice in comments shared with Newsweek as the Republican nominee seeks to break from his Democratic rival in the White House.

While Trump mentioned the ongoing war in Gaza sparingly in his 90-minute speech delivered upon accepting his party's nomination at the Republic National Convention on Thursday and never referenced Hamas directly, he issued an ominous warning "to the entire world" regarding the fate of an estimated eight U.S. hostages believed to be held by Palestinian militias.

"We want our hostages back," Trump said, "and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price."

Responding to the comments, Hamas spokesperson Bassem Naim said that it was "sad to hear such statements because it reflects that the complicit American policies towards the conflict here is a non-partisan issue and regardless of who will win the election, the blind and disgraceful support of the USA to Israel will continue" in a statement shared with Newsweek.

He then issued an appeal for the former president to devise a new approach to the conflict.

"But we can very confidently reassure Mr. Trump that the Democrats have already done the maximum to help their puppet in the region and they both have failed to achieve any of their goals," Naim said. "Therefore, use your time to put a new strategy to rescue your puppet from its ominous demise, a new strategy based on justice and genuine rights of all people to freedom, dignity and self-determination."

Trump, who reiterated his long-standing argument that the Hamas-led surprise attack sparking the ongoing war with Israel in Gaza "would never have happened" if he were president, has traditionally adopted fervently pro-Israel policies. While in office, he went beyond his predecessors in recognizing Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights and moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem.

As the two devised a so-called "deal of the century" that was ultimately rejected by Palestinians and most regional countries in resolving the decadeslong Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to Trump as "the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House" in January 2020. The remarks came just weeks after Trump ordered the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Major General Qassem Soleimani in an operation celebrated by Israel.

Later that same year, the Trump administration successfully mediated the Abraham Accords that ultimately saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

But Trump has also grown critical of Netanyahu since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza. He has ripped the Israeli premier on several occasions over the past nine months for having failed to prevent the Hamas-led attack and allegedly pulling out of the operation to kill Soleimani, an act for which Trump continues to receive threats from Iranian officials.

And while Trump has called on President Joe Biden to let Israel "finish the job" in Gaza, he has also slammed the U.S. ally for committing a "very big mistake" over widespread images of destruction in connection to the conflict.

Newsweek has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, continues to grapple with an extremely contentious foreign policy issue that shows little sign of abating before the election in November. Negotiations continue in Egypt toward securing a three-phase ceasefire and prisoner swap deal but both Hamas and Israeli officials continue to accuse one another of sabotaging the talks.

The conflict has also spread beyond Gaza to include intensifying cross-border clashes between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement as well as attacks mounted against Israel from other Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance factions, including the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Yemen's Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement. Early Friday, Ansar Allah claimed a stunning drone attack at the heart of Tel Aviv.

Biden has repeatedly called for calm amid the crisis gripping the Middle East and has sought to express broad support for Israel's campaign while at the same time calling on Netanyahu to show greater restraint amid mounting civilian casualties in Gaza.

At least a dozen U.S. officials and military personnel have publicly resigned over the White House's approach to the war in Gaza and protests continue to emerge across cities and college campuses nationwide. The discord threatens to further undermine Biden as he already faces growing calls to resign from fellow Democrats due to concerns over his age and mental acuity, issues that have also drawn criticism from Hamas.

Yet in the coming contest between Biden and Trump, Hamas has generally avoided choosing sides, suggesting neither candidate was likely to significantly change course.

Speaking to Newsweek on Monday amid the fallout from a recent assassination attempt against Trump, and Biden's uncertain fate on the Democratic ticket, Naim referred to the situation in the lead-up to the election as "an American internal issue."

"If there is a difference," Naim said at the time, "it is not essential because Israel is part of American strategic interests, independent of parties."

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