Clarke: Israelis ‘did themselves no favors’ setting ‘the bar so high’ for ‘destruction of Hamas’

President Biden says he is “hopeful” there will be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by next Monday. Andrea Mitchell is joined by Raf Sanchez and Colin Clarke, the Director of Research at the Soufan Group, to discuss the latest in ceasefire and hostage negotiations. “The Israelis did themselves no favors early on in this conflict by setting the bar so high as the total destruction of Hamas, because anybody that's been studying terrorism knows it's very rare to completely destroy a terrorist organization,” Clarke says. On hostage negotiations, he adds, “There's a lot swirling around right now about the state of the hostages, but I think that only adds to the sense of urgency for these negotiations to be successful. That's why you have someone like Bill Burns spending so much time focusing on this issue.”Feb. 27, 2024