On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) stated that Hamas is at fault for the conflict between it and Israel and could end the war right now, and Israel has “agreed to the American position here and the framework” but President Joe Biden is putting “a lot of pressure” on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Gottheimer said, “I think everyone has a right to be angry until a deal’s done. However, let’s not lose sight of one reality, and I just don’t think we should brush this aside: Hamas is to blame. Iran and their proxies are to blame for what happened on October 7. And, listen, today, they could lay down their weapons and free the hostages and this would be over. They’ve chosen not to. The Israelis, as you know, time and again, have agreed to the American position here and the framework and Hamas continues to do what they’re doing, including saying today that they’ll do what they just did over the last days, shooting hostages, killing them in cold blood, as they did on October 7 and doing it again.”
Host Alex Marquardt then asked, “President Biden making it clear today that he does not think that the Israeli Prime Minister is doing enough to get to a ceasefire. If the U.S. wants a different outcome, to get to a pause in the fighting that will eventually become a permanent ceasefire, what pressure would you like to see from the Biden administration?”
Gottheimer responded, “I think the fact that they’re speaking out is a lot of pressure. I also think the President also said that Hamas needs to be held accountable. … I think there has to be pressure on all parties to get a deal done, to get this pause, to make sure that Hamas stops using innocent Palestinians in Gaza as human shields, to make sure that Egypt seals the border so that there aren’t more tunnels so that more reinforcements don’t go to Hamas to kill more. And I think we’ve got to make sure we do everything we can to keep the pressure up, but not lose sight of actually who led to this and never lose sight of the fact the terrorists here are Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, all Iranian-backed proxies. Iran is our number one enemy, working closely with China, Russia, and North Korea, continuing to attack the United States of America, our democracy.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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