The backlash against the former US President came following remarks he made at a rally in Michigan in support of presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
Former United States President Bill Clinton is facing wide criticism for controversial remarks he made on Wednesday, which justified the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza by the Israeli occupation army.
The backlash against the former US President came following remarks he made at a rally in Michigan in support of presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris when he said that Hamas “forced” Israel to kill Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
“I understand why young Palestinians and Arab Americans in Michigan think too many people have died. I get that,” Clinton said addressing Arab American voters.
He continued: “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 the ones right next to Gaza. And Hamas butchered them.”
Bill Clinton in Michigan:
“I understand why young Palestinian and Arab Americans in Michigan think too many people have died — I get that, but…”“Hamas makes sure that they’re shielded by civilians, they’ll force you to kill civilians, if you want to defend yourself.” pic.twitter.com/cYzlsmWTGo
— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) October 31, 2024
Echoing questions that he is reportedly often asked, Clinton went on to say, “Yeah but look how many people you’ve killed in retaliation, so how many people is enough to kill to punish them for the terrible things they did?”
“Well, you’ll have to forgive me, I’m not keeping score that way,” he answered, adding: “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.”
Clinton’s defense of the Israeli genocide against Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip was met with wide criticism by the Arab and Muslim community in the United States a few days ahead of the presidential elections.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) criticized Clinton’s remarks that vilified a group of people, Anadolu news agency reported.
“Bill Clinton’s callous and dishonest attempt to justify the Israeli government’s attacks on civilians in Gaza was as insulting as it was Islamophobic,” CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said, as quoted by Anadolu.
“It is completely unacceptable to dismissively reference Islam and falsely claim that every Palestinian man, woman, and child killed by Israel was a human shield,” McCaw added.
For his part, Senior Fellow at the Arab Center in Washington D.C., Yousef Munayyer slammed Clinton’s remarks stressing that they stand in line with Clinton’s failed legacy.
“The Clintons are so incredibly bitter over their pathetic failure to make peacemaking part of their Presidential legacy as their rival Carter had done, that they’ve resorted to decades of blaming the victims,” the academic wrote on X.
“Failure to own shortcomings is the quintessential Clinton quality,” he added.
The Clinton’s are so incredibly bitter over their pathetic failure to make peacemaking part of their Presidential legacy, as their rival Carter had done, that they’ve resorted to decades of blaming the victims. Failure to own shortcomings is the quintessential Clinton quality.
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) October 31, 2024
The Mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, Abdullah Hammoud pleaded with the Democratic Party not to send “surrogates” the likes of Bill Clinton to rally the Arab vote this weekend.
“Do us a favor – stop sending surrogates who have no respect or regard for this community. You’re only inflicting more damage,” the mayor wrote on X.
Solid Support
This is not the first time the US administration has been criticized for its unwavering support of Israel during the ongoing genocide on Gaza.
The US president was recently interrupted by a protester as he was apologizing to Native Americans for his country’s role in the government-funded boarding school system that abused Indigenous children and forced them to assimilate.
A woman protester shouted: “What about the people of Gaza?”
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“How can you apologize for a genocide while there’s a genocide in Palestine?” she went on to ask while screaming, ‘Free Palestine’ with other protesters chanting along.
Biden asked the security to let the woman speak and let her go when they apparently attempted to force her to leave the place.
He then told the audience that “there are a lot of innocent people being killed and it has to stop.”
Genocide Continues
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,204 Palestinians have been killed, and 101,641 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Anadolu)
(PC, Anadolu)
