CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed on the security situation in the Middle East and the visit of the U.S. President. 

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed: Israel has restarted strikes on Gaza, the fiercest since a now-expired ceasefire came into effect in January. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the recent airstrikes on Gaza are, "only the beginning." Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says the strikes killed over 400 Palestinians, including many children. The IDF has ordered evacuations in eastern Gaza, while Israelis have called for protests. In Tel Aviv, the families of hostages joined thousands protesting against the Israeli strikes on Gaza - accusing Netanyahu's government of sacrificing their relatives.

"Three empty buses exploded on the southern edge of Tel Aviv in Israel recently.

In this week’s episode of The Hunt with WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green, Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, explained how it happened and what it means."

"Hamas has ability to rebuild if circumstances allow, expert Hans-Jakob Schindler tells DW
Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, has told DW that the ceasefire deal is "a victory" for the hostages and Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

However, Schindler said the Hamas command and control structure, and its tunnel network, had been severely degraded. "

“Mr. Schindler, the hostage deal has barely been announced and there is already a dispute between Hamas and Israel. What else could cause the agreement to fail? “Hamas wants to decide alone who will be released from Israeli prisons in return for the release of the hostages. Israel cannot agree to that.” What speaks against it?“ No government would allow itself to be dictated to as to which prisoners it would release and which it would not. If there is no agreement on this issue, an agreement could still fail. But I do not expect that to happen. The outcome of the negotiations is basically a given…” Hans-Jakob Schindler is Senior Director of the international Counter Extremism Project and heads its office in Berlin.”

"From Hans-Jakob Schindler's point of view, the fact that Hamas decided to publish Liri Albag's video in such a sensitive situation can be explained primarily by negotiating tactics. "With such videos of the hostages, Hamas always aims to put pressure on the Israeli government through their families and the public in order to persuade it to make concessions in the negotiations," says the senior director of the international Counter Extremism Project.”

""The internal UN inquiry was wholly inadequate and its conclusions complacent. A great deal more evidence has emerged since then," said Edmund Fitton-Brown, the UK’s former ambassador to Yemen, who is now a counter-terrorism expert with the New America think-tank in New York.

“The UN simply claims that UNRWA is irreplaceable, without making any attempt to address concerns about it and introduce reforms,” he added."