‘Keep pressure on all parties’: WA rep. outlines path to rebuild Palestine while containing Hamas

Israel and Hamas are taking the next steps in a Gaza ceasefire agreement by freeing prisoners and hostages, The Associated Press reported Monday.

Washington Rep. Adam Smith called it a major positive development but stressed that planning is needed to prevent another conflict.

“The overarching issue is there has to be a future built for the Palestinian people,” Smith said on “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio.

He said the first step is creating an alternative governing structure for Hamas.

“For that to happen, number one, President Trump and the U.S. have to stay engaged and keep the pressure on all parties. Number two, Prime Minister Netanyahu has to do what he has not done for the last 15 years, and that is support an alternative to Hamas, give the Palestinian people some hope of self-governance, and some sort of path forward to economic opportunity,” Smith explained.

He noted the Arab partners in the region will also have to live up to their end of the deal.

“They have to engage both with their money and with their security apparatus, and just with their commitment. So all of those people can’t just celebrate the peace that happened. They got to go to work over the course of at least the next year or two to try to put in place something that is sustainable,” he said.

The fourth part, Smith said, is containing Hamas.

“This war happened because of Hamas. And the people in Palestine know that obviously, and I believe that Israel prosecuted the war much longer than they should have, but it was primarily driven by Hamas’ actions that has brought absolute devastation to the Palestinian people. Hamas is at a very low point. They have to be kept down and out,” he explained.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.