Hamas open to direct channel on cease-fire, says former hostage negotiator
After months of failed talks, Israel's former back-channel negotiator Gershon Baskin says it’s time to bypass the mediators and open a direct line of communication with Hamas.
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WASHINGTON — Shortly after the Oct. 7 massacre, Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin cut off contact with Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official with whom he maintained a back channel for 18 years.
“I never want to speak to you again,” Baskin wrote in a Nov. 1 open letter to Hamad, his counterpart in the negotiations over the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in 2006.
But as the Gaza war dragged for several months, Baskin had a change of heart.
