Adam Boehler has withdrawn his nomination as the US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, according to US reports on Friday evening.
The withdrawal of his nomination has been in the works for two weeks, one of the two senior Trump administration officials cited in Axios said, and added that he would have a “different presidential envoy position with a broader mandate.”
Another White House official, cited by The Washington Post, said that Boehler was “elected to work in a non-confirmed capacity so he would not be required to divest from his health-care investment firm.”
The official added in that report that Trump still has the “utmost confidence” in Boehler.
White House officials said that Boehler will still continue to work in the Trump administration “as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations,” reports said.
Speaking with Hamas directly
Boehler had overseen direct negotiations with the Hamas terrorist organization on behalf of the United States, and had come under fire from Israeli officials and by Republicans for being the first American official to hold direct talks with the Palestinian terror group. This course of action was reportedly approved by Trump himself.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that “the talks bore no fruit” and that they were a one-time event.
Saturday’s official announcement of Boehler’s nomination withdrawal came only two days after initial reports said he had been removed from involvement in the negotiations for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Boehler said that the talks were focused on releasing who is believed to be the sole living American hostage in Gaza – Edan Alexander, the Washington Post reported. Hamas announced that they would plan to release Alexander, but Israel had accused the terror organization of deviating from the American proposal for a ceasefire extension.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
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