I have some questions

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Trump’s blast of bombast in his widely publicized speech to Congress included this one-sentence statement: “We are bringing our hostages back from Gaza.” He did not care to elaborate on just how he intends on doing this.

So, first question: What did he mean by “our” hostages? Has America suddenly adopted all of the hostages remaining in Gaza? Just curious, but also, America doesn’t do hostages. So who, exactly, is bringing them home? Will Trump fly over on a carpet and free them with his magic sword, leading them all to freedom, or is there an actual plan?

The first round of the latest hostage-prisoner exchange is over. The agreement was that by this time, negotiations would have begun for the next round, including working toward a cease-fire agreement. And as long as negotiations were underway, we would have enjoyed another few weekends of watching men, brown sweats hanging from sharply protruding shoulder bones, blink in the sunlight as they are led to their “graduation ceremony.” Instead, Israel is trying to change the rules in the middle of the game, playing at negotiating while insisting on keeping to the rules of round one, reneging on its promise to start the next one and discuss ending the war. Whether you hate Hamas or just think they’re sadly deluded, you can understand why they would not agree to a situation in which they release all of the hostages, only to have the war start up again once they are all home. Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff seems to be key, and our government delays making any commitment, either to reentering Gaza or to entering serious negotiations, until he arrives. Meanwhile, the remaining hostages are enduring more days of torture and their families nights of agony.

Second question: Why did Witkoff delay his visit? Why is he not here already putting pressure on Bibi to bring “our” hostages home from Gaza? More and more it is starting to seem that the problem may not be the need to pressure Bibi into accepting a ceasefire, but the conflicting interests of shadow players. Witkoff, a real-estate mogul, and Bibi, can talk “business.” But Saudi Arabia is playing a long game, and to win, it needs Hamas gone and some sort of Palestinian puppet in place. Trump thinks he’s an old-school king who can just stroll into the candy store and take anything he likes, and Hamas is not really up with that. Iran, allied with Trump’s new BFF, Putin, is all about arms smuggling, neatly packaged some good old-fashioned Islamic imperialism, not our particular favorite. Trump or Witkoff’s hostile-takeover business models, or even their so-called “thinking out of the box,” are going to run up against some very different models, packed in very different boxes.

Third question: Why do we think that Trump can pull the “hostage” rabbit out of his hat a second time? Bibi colluded with him in delaying a hostage deal until Trump was elected and then handed it to him on a plate. This time, he’s sending an envoy, just like every US president before him. Envoys travel back and forth, but rarely manage to accomplish a real deal. Ultimately, deals happen when both sides agree to play nice, and right now we are all back to playing mean and dirty.

Fourth question: Why are we being treated to the sight of families of hostages being physically attacked in the Knesset? Despicable is too nice a word. Shameful – yes in the sense that I feel deep, personal shame in the way citizens of my country who want nothing more than their loved ones released from the torture are getting treated by elected representatives of my country. Why are Knesset members not bowing their heads to ask forgiveness from these people who have suffered so much, already? Why?

Fifth question: When Witkoff does get here, what do we expect from him? Bibi seems to be signaling that he wants a green light to go back to war. And Hamas appears to want the same thing, at least on the face of things. I am not sure whether this is just due to the fanatics who are still in charge or the renewed hope of drawing Israel into another deadly guerrilla war it cannot win. Because the negotiations are a farce on their side, as well.

We’ve put our hope in Trump because he is strong-arming his way into a new world order and we’re hoping he can bully all sides into an agreement that is to our liking. But we forget we are a two-bit player in a billionaire’s game.

Sixth question: What happens when Bibi is called to the “hot seat” in the oval office (the one recently vacated by Zelensky) and told: We gave you billions of dollars and you did not manage to bring all the hostages home!? What will Bibi answer him, then?