Israel should still engage in hostage negotiations and have conversations to see what can get done, Florida Sen. Rick Scott told reporters outside the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual summit in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, although a previous post on X indicated the senator no longer believed in ceasefire negotiations.
“Hamas terrorists murdered six hostages, including an American citizen, just days ago, 333 days after October 7. These same monsters are still holding 60+ innocent people hostage. We cannot rest or stop putting pressure on Hamas, not Israel,” Scott wrote on X on Tuesday.
“Hamas isn’t interested in a ceasefire or compromise,” Scott continued. “The solution here is to bring every hostage home and destroy Hamas. Anything else is unacceptable.”
He was unclear on whether he believed in the negotiation process to release hostages or to free hostages through military action.
“Destroy it, kill every Hamas member, and also get every individual home,” Scott said to reporters.
When asked about the hostage families who are continuing to say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of total victory is impossible, Scott said, “What we ought to be doing is talking to everyone, doing everything we can to figure out how to get the hostages home, and at the same time do everything we can to destroy Hamas.”
Scott said he doesn’t think getting the hostages home and destroying Hamas are mutually exclusive, but it takes two sides.
“Israel can do everything you want, and Hamas doesn’t want to release the hostages; there’s no way you can get a deal done,” he said.
Scott said he believed Netanyahu was doing everything in his power to get a deal.
“I saw him when he came to DC, but I met with him back in March,” Scott said. “And every time I’ve ever talked to Netanyahu, he’s doing everything he can to get the hostages out.”
Scott, who is running for a critical seat that could determine the makeup of the Senate, accused his opponent, former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, of being a “socialist that is not out there aggressively supporting Israel, is not calling out antisemitism, which I can’t imagine any American not doing that right now.”
Mucarsel-Powell is endorsed by the Jewish Democratic Coalition of America. She released a statement condemning Hamas on October 7 and said, “Any call to eradicate Israel or the Jewish people is horrifying and must be strongly opposed. We must focus on eliminating Hamas, saving civilian lives, and securing peace.”
The party leader
Scott is also running to be his party leader, a role in which he has legislation ready to combat Hamas.The first would be to ensure no US dollars are going to Hamas, with the second prohibiting federal funds for any educational institution that allows anarchy on its campus.
“And third, we have to stop funding the UN. The UN is not helping us prevent problems around the world,” Scott said.