– We are going a long way back, if we have ever had such a complicated hostage situation as now, says Danish Jens Serup to news. He has worked in the Danish army and is a trained hostage negotiator. Serup has negotiated the release of more than 100 hostages, including from IS and the Taliban. Now he is following the situation with the 222 hostages who are trapped in Gaza. – There are an incredible number of hostages to have. That makes the outcome extremely large, says Serup. Propaganda On Friday, the first two were released, on Monday Hamas released two more. – I think the release should be seen as part of the propaganda war going on between Hamas on the one hand and the Israelis on the other. Danish Jens Serup is a trained hostage negotiator. He has negotiated the release of more than 100 hostages, including from IS and the Taliban. Photo: Hallgeir Vågenes / VG Serup believes Hamas is trying to win some “sympathy points” both at home and away. At the same time, it can help delay Israel’s planned ground invasion. He refers to gradual releases as a negotiating tactic. – Releases like this help to slow down or put pressure on Israel to hold back a little to see how many people can be rescued, he says. Will be taken care of on Wednesday, the released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz (85) told that she was taken down tunnels in Gaza. – I went through hell, she said. At the same time, she said that she was followed up by a doctor while she was in captivity, and that they were given food and drink. She added that Israel’s defense had not taken Hamas seriously. 85-year-old Yocheved Lifschitz tells about his time as a hostage. Serup believes that Hamas has a plan for the hostages to appear in the media. – They must support the narrative that Hamas is not just this bloodthirsty organization that was behind the cruel attack, he says. – And then I think one should be aware that the released hostages know there are more hostages still in captivity. In their statements, they will take this into account. The two women who were released on Monday still have spouses held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Can sit for a long time The hostages can be divided into three groups: The civilians (including women and children) The military (both soldiers and leaders) The foreign (including people with dual citizenship) This is the first picture of Judith and Natalie Raanan after they were taken free of Hamas. The image is shared by the government of Israel. Photo: Government of Israel Soldiers and military leaders often have a very high value. Serup recalls that Israel entered into an agreement which involved the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in order to get back the soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006. – Hamas has previously said that they take hostages to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners. What do you think will happen in the future? – Hamas can choose to use some hostages for one purpose and some other hostages for another purpose. They can release many hostages, and still have enough hostages to force other forms of concessions or negotiations. Professor at the Staff School in the Armed Forces, Tormod Heier, believes it is no coincidence that the first two to be released are American. He believes Hamas is doing this to influence American politicians to exert pressure on Israel to moderate the warfare as much as possible. The fact that there are several foreign nationals among the hostages means that it is possible for Hamas to hold on to them in order to be able to negotiate with countries other than Israel at a later date, Serup believes. – The complexity is enormous, and how this will end is almost impossible to predict, says Serup.
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The releases part of the propaganda war – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
