Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during an interview over the weekend that the Taliban is trying to get involved with launching attacks against Israel.
The remarks come after Palestinian terrorists launched terror attacks against Israel over the weekend that were unprecedented in size, resulting in the deaths of 700+ Israelis with thousands more injured.
The remarks also come after the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan after President Joe Biden’s disastrous pullout from the country, which resulted in the deaths of Americans, billions of dollars of military equipment seized by Taliban terrorists, and the reorganizing of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
McCaul made the comments during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash.
“I have seen indications that the Taliban wants to come to liberate Jerusalem, in their words, to fight the Zionists. It’s very concerning,” McCaul said. “And Hezbollah to the north, they have 100,000 rockets in Lebanon. And so we don’t want this to escalate, obviously.”
“We have seen through [the Taliban’s] postings that the intent and the desire is there,” he said. “If we have a call for jihadism in Jerusalem, that’s what really concerns me. I think, as it stands right now, the Israeli military capability far outweighs Hamas, and they can take care of this problem. But it will take time to go house to house. But if this lights up into a larger sort of war on jihad — or jihadist war against the Zionists, if you will, that’s what always keeps everybody up at night. I don’t want to see it escalate to that point.”
McCaul also confirmed Wall Street Journal reporting that Iran was behind the attack, saying that they “financed this every step of the way.”
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WATCH:
#ICYMI Chairman @RepMcCaul joined @CNNSotu today to discuss the Hamas terrorists' heinous attacks on Israel. WATCH ⬇️📺 pic.twitter.com/Orh2OZl2iH
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) October 8, 2023