Alan Dershowitz, Harvard law professor emeritus, told Newsmax on Sunday that Hamas is likely to release a small number of American hostages before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Speaking on Sunday Report, Dershowitz predicted this move as a symbolic gesture toward Trump but emphasized it would not halt the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“They will be the Americans,” Dershowitz said. “That will be a kind of homage to Trump, saying, ‘All right, at least we’re releasing the Americans.’” However, he underscored that all hostages must be freed and that the ultimate objective must be ensuring such events never recur.
Dershowitz called for a hardline stance from the incoming Trump administration, particularly against Iran, which he says fears Trump. “The president-elect ought to tell Iran, ‘You have 60 days to dismantle your nuclear program, and if you don’t do it, we’ll do it,’” he stated, asserting that Trump’s threats are effective.
The professor criticized Hamas for escalating its demands, arguing that this behavior is encouraged by what he described as “useful idiots” protesting on American college campuses. He accused these demonstrators of being complicit in the violence, stating, “These young men and women have blood on their hands.” Dershowitz also criticized the absence of calls for a two-state solution among campus protesters, suggesting their ultimate goal is the elimination of Israel as a nation-state.
Dershowitz praised Trump’s approach to foreign policy, emphasizing the importance of credible threats backed by force. He contrasted Trump’s strategy with the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal, which he called a disaster that empowered terrorism by providing Iran with billions to fund groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
He added that President Trump’s tough stance on adversaries, including Hamas and Iran, positions him uniquely to reverse the policies he attributes to the failures of the Obama era. “Force is the engine of diplomacy,” Dershowitz concluded, asserting that Trump understands this principle better than any previous U.S. president.
