Reports published today (Thursday) in the American media indicate that three sources from the Republican Party who spoke to media outlets said that President Trump's envoy for the issue of hostages in the Middle East, Adam Buehler, has been effectively removed from managing the hostage case with Hamas.
However, no official announcement has been made by the Trump administration so far.
The criticism of Trump's special envoy began with a series of interviews by Buhler to American and Israeli media outlets, in which he revealed that he had conducted direct negotiations with Hamas leaders in an attempt to secure the release of kidnapped soldier Idan Alexander, who holds American citizenship.
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Only with the direct negotiations taking place, criticism of the American envoy's interviews stemmed from controversial answers he provided. In an interview with CNN, he said that Israeli opposition to direct talks with Hamas stems from the fact that they might meet them and discover that "they don't have horns growing out of their heads, they're actually pretty nice people.".
Buhler added that he was "not really interested" in the concerns of Secretary of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer regarding talks with Hamas, and even stated: "The United States is not an agent of Israel.".
He later tried to clarify his words on social media.
According to a report on Channel 12, following his appearances, Buehler held talks with pro-Israel Republicans on Capitol Hill. However, these talks were described as largely unproductive, with one senator claiming that Buehler doesn't understand the problem at all. "It's like he's living in a never-ending country.".
According to three sources who spoke to the White House, Trump administration officials assured leaders in Jerusalem and Republicans in Washington that Buehler had been removed from handling the Israeli hostages - "because he had completely lost trust.".
