Following Senator Pete Ricketts’ (R-NE) statement that “to get to peace [in the Middle East], you have to have both sides at the table,” Democratic Majority for Israel President & CEO Mark Mellman today released the following statement:
“Republican Senator Pete Ricketts is wrong. Hamas, a savage terrorist group, does not belong at the table for peace negotiations in a post-war Gaza. Indeed, Hamas must have no role whatsoever in a post-war Gaza.
“Let’s be clear: Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that President Biden called ‘sheer evil.’ On October 7, 2023, Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis, abducted 250 people—59 of whom remain hostage—and carried out horrific atrocities against women, children, and the elderly, while even livestreaming their depravity.
“Both the Biden-Harris Administration and the Trump-Vance Administration have been clear in stating that Hamas can have no role in post-war Gaza.
“Senator Ricketts should repudiate his statement, and other members of the House and Senate should join him in doing so.”
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