The White House has confirmed a report alleging that the United States has engaged in direct negotiations with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
President Donald Trump’s administration dispatched Adam Boehler, Washington’s point man on American captives held overseas, to discuss the fate of the country’s captives, who are held in Gaza, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday, Press TV reported.
"Engaging in discussions globally to serve the best interests of the American people is something the President believes in," she said during a press briefing.
"The President believes it is the right thing for the American people," she added.
The remarks came while the United States has designated Hamas as a “terrorist organization.”
It took the move in 1997 due to the movement’s unyielding resolve to resist US-backed Israeli occupation and aggression.
The resolve has featured the group and its fellow resistance factions conducting numerous and incessant successful operations against the Israeli regime, Washington’s most cherished regional ally, facing up to Tel Aviv’s genocidal atrocities as well as other war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians.
Leavitt, however, claimed that Boehler, in his capacity as captive affairs’ envoy, "has the authority to speak with any relevant parties."
The remarks came hours after American website Axios carried a report pointing to the discussions, citing “sources familiar with the matter.”
According to the sources, the report had said, Boehler had conducted clandestine meetings with Hamas’ officials in the Qatari capital Doha over recent weeks.
The primary focus of the discussions was the release of the American captives, with a purported potential to also cover a comprehensive truce in Gaza, it had added.
bd-pratidin/GR
