US President Joe Biden agreed that “Hamas must be eliminated,” but stressed that there must be a path to Palestinian statehood as well in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday night.
President Biden says Hamas must be eliminated, but he supports Palestinian statehood. This has been the U.S. policy for decades. https://t.co/NASVaY1Z4T pic.twitter.com/eFbZDh1IBy
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 15, 2023
“There needs to be a Palestinian authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state,” said Biden.
When asked if he thought Israel would pursue that path after Hamas’s recent assault on southern Israel, the president responded “Not now. Not now. Not now, but I think Israel understands that a significant portion of Palestinian people do not share the views of Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Biden rejected the idea of Israel occupying the Gaza Strip, saying “I think it’d be a big mistake.”
“Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that…It would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again…but taking out the extremists, Hezbollah up north and Hamas down south is a necessary requirement.”
“60 Minutes” host Scott Pelley referenced rising casualties in the conflict, asking “about 1,200 Israeli civilians were killed in the initial attack, but now Hamas fighters and Palestinian civilians are being killed in the counterattack. Is it time for a ceasefire?”
Biden responded that “there’s a fundamental difference. Israel is going after a group of people who have engaged in barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust. And so I think Israel has to respond. They have to go after Hamas. Hamas is a bunch of cowards. They’re hiding behind the civilians. They put their headquarters where civilians are and buildings and the like. But…the Israelis are gonna do everything in their power to avoid the killing of innocent civilians.”
When asked if he believed US troops might enter combat in the Middle East if the war escalates, Biden answered “I don’t think that’s necessary. Israel has one of the finest fighting forces in the country. I guarantee we’re gonna provide them everything they need.”
Biden referenced the unknown number of American citizens being held hostage in Gaza, saying “we’re gonna do everything in our power to find those who are still alive and set them free. Everything in our power. And I’m not gonna go into the detail of that, but…we’re workin’ like hell on it.”
Biden also expressed confidence that Israel would act according to the rules of war. “There standards that democratic institutions and countries go by. And so I’m confident that there’s gonna be an ability for the innocents in Gaza to be able to have access to medicine and food and water.
The president also addressed questions about if Iran was behind Hamas’s assault, telling “60 Minutes” that “there is no clear evidence of that.”
“Iran constantly supports Hamas and Hezbollah. I don’t mean that. But in terms of did they have foreknowledge; did they help plan the attack, there’s no evidence of that at this point.”
Biden dismissed concerns that the US could not handle supporting both Israel and Ukraine, saying “We’re the United States of America for God’s sake, the most powerful nation in the history– not in the world, in the history of the world. The history of the world. We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense.”
Biden: Supporting Israel is about decency, respect, honor
When Pelley asked the president “Why do you feel so strongly? What does Israel mean to you?” Biden responded “The Jews have been subject to abuse, prejudice, and attempts to wipe them out for, oh, God, over a thousand years. For me, it’s about decency, respect, honor. it’s just simply wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It violates every religious principle I have and every single principle my father taught me.”
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