On CNN’s “The Lead” broadcast Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said that Hamas hiding among civilians is “probably part of the problem, but not the real problem.” ” he said. And famine in the Gaza Strip is “Israel’s responsibility, not Hamas’s.”
Host Jake Tapper said, “This is unfair, this is a double standard, Hamas started on October 7th, Hamas wants to destroy Israel, Hamas wants to kill Jews, Hamas wants to kill its own people. “What do you say to people who say you’re hiding in the background?” , Hamas doesn’t care how many Palestinian civilians die – all of which is true, in my opinion, but how do you react when people say that -? ”
Mr. Sanders interjected and replied: Hamas is a horrible, horrible terrorist organization that started this war. And what I’ve said from the beginning, Jake, is that Israel has the right to defend itself and to wage war against Hamas. That’s what I believe. I think most people believe that. But he has no right to damage or destroy his 70% of Gaza’s housing. We don’t have the right to evict 80% of the population, force them out of their homes, force them into this area, force them into that area, and deny them food, water, medicine, and fuel. Well, you don’t have that right. So the answer is, of course, Hamas started this war and they are a terrorist organization, but the United States does not fund Hamas. We fund Israel. And we have to make it clear to Israel that we can go to war with Hamas, but we cannot continue with the horrific actions that are literally causing the worst humanitarian disaster we have ever seen. Thing. ”
Mr. Tapper then said, “The reason why so many innocent people are dying in Gaza is because Hamas integrated itself with the Palestinian people, built tunnels under people’s homes, hid under them, and killed civilians.” “What do you say to those who say it’s because they want to?” “Does it make Israel look bad because they see them as martyrs?”
“I think that’s probably part of the problem, but that’s not the real problem,” Sanders responded. The real issue now, as I said earlier, is what we’re looking for. [at] Massive starvation. It was not caused by Hamas. That’s simply because Israel is not allowing the hundreds of trucks lining its borders to enter and move to areas where they need to be. That is Israel’s responsibility, not Hamas’s. ”
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