Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed back on activists demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying such an agreement would be a “gift” for the terrorist government.
The former presidential candidate made the remarks during the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy’s 30th anniversary event on Thursday.
“People who are calling for a ceasefire now, don’t understand Hamas,” Clinton said, according to The Jerusalem Post. “That is not possible.”
HILLARY CLINTON CONFRONTED BY HECKLER OVER BIDEN’S ‘WARMONGERING’ SPEECH: ‘SIT DOWN!’
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during an unveiling of her portrait at the State Department in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
She continued, “It would be such a gift to Hamas because they would spend whatever time there was a ceasefire in effect rebuilding their armaments, creating stronger positions to be able to fend off an eventual assault by the Israelis.”
Israel has entered its fourth week of war against Hamas after the terrorist group infiltrated the country on Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets at residential areas and butchering civilians.
As many as 9,900 people have been killed in the war on both sides, including at least 1,400 Israeli civilians and soldiers and 32 Americans. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims 8,525 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 111 in the West Bank. At least 10 Americans are feared to be among the 240 people held captive by Hamas.
ISRAELI MILITARY PUSHES DEEPER INTO GAZA AS IDF TARGETS HAMAS ANTI-TANK, ROCKET POSITIONS
Gunmen from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, during an anti-Israel military march in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. Palestine. (Yousef Masoud/Majority World/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Clinton previously faced off against a persistent heckler who demanded she comment on President Biden’s “warmongering” speech supporting Israel and Ukraine during a panel at Columbia University’s “Making Human Rights Come Alive: The UDHR at 75” event.
“Can you please make a statement about President Joe Biden’s speech? This is a clearly warmongering speech! President Joe Biden is calling for $100 billion of funding for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine, and we’re supposed to just bundle these together and pretend like we’re going to rush to World War III, and we’re all just gonna let Hillary Rodham Clinton sit here and —,” someone in the audience shouted said before Clinton interjected.
“I’m sorry. You know, this is — this is not a way to have a conversation. You want to have a conversation, you are welcome to come talk to me afterward,” Clinton said.
Students rally on the UCLA campus in support of Palestinians caught up in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Clinton offered to wait for the heckler after the event to listen and respond to their question, but the audience member would not relent.
“Respectfully, I do not believe you. And the fact of the matter is that the American people’s voice is what needs to be heard, because … because our president is not speaking for the American people, and neither are you,” he responded.
“Well, then sit down! We heard your opinion. Thank you very much,” Clinton interjected.
Fox News’s Lindsay Kornick, Chris Pandolfo, and Landon Mion contributed to this report.