Bill Clinton’s Gaza comments draw outrage on social media
Former US President Bill Clinton has sparked backlash online after saying the Palestinian group Hamas “forces” Israel to kill Palestinian civilians.
Clinton addressed an audience in Michigan on Wednesday to rally support for Democratic Party candidate Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 5 November US presidential elections, with a speech that discussed Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.
Michigan is a key battleground state where former President Donald Trump and Harris are neck and neck in the polls. Historically, the state is pivotal to winning the White House and is home to the largest Arab and Muslim community in the US.
“The hardest issue here in Michigan is the Middle East. I understand why young Palestinian and Arab Americans in Michigan think too many people have died. I get that,” he said.
“But if you lived in one of those kibbutzim in Israel right next to Gaza, where the people there were the most pro-friendship with Palestine, most pro-two-state solution of any of the Israeli communities – were right next to Gaza. And Hamas butchered them.”
He then said that criticism of Israel’s disproportionate response was misguided.“That all sounds nice until you realise what would you do if it was your family and you hadn’t done anything but support a homeland for the Palestinians and one day they come for you and slaughter the people in your village.
“You would say, ‘Well you’ll have to forgive me, I’m not keeping score that way – it isn’t how many we’ve had to kill’ – because Hamas makes sure that they’re shielded by civilians, they’ll force you to kill civilians if you want to defend yourself.”
Since Israel’s war on Gaza began nearly 13 months ago after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, Israeli forces have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 100,000 others, the majority of them civilians. More than 10,000 are missing and presumed dead under the rubble.
Israel is also facing accusations of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes before international courts.
Clinton blamed Hamas for the high Palestinian civilian death toll, adding that the group “wanted to kill Israelis and make Israel uninhabitable”. [Continue reading…]